Dark Eyes
by SussiRay
Summary: Two women have been found dead and two are missing in a small town in Minnesota. Will the team be able to find them and the killer before it is too late? And will Hotch and Emily give in to their feelings for each other? Casefic with emerging H/P romance!
1. Another day, another case

**Dark Eyes**

**A/N: Welcome to my new fic! This is my first attempt at a casefic and it will be darker than my other stories. But there will still be a H/P romance... and it will definitely have its moments of levity. **

**The town in this fic is completely fictional and if there's any resemblance to any real town then that is purely coincidental. The name of the town is meant to be a small homage to my homeland...**

**Please enjoy!**

**I do not and will not ever *sob* own Criminal Minds...**

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**Chapter 1 – Another day, another case.**

She was found on a sunny Sunday morning in the end of one of the warmest Aprils Minnesota had seen in quite a while. Her cold naked body had been wrapped in a stained sheet and disposed of in the depths of an alleyway. She laid there haphazardly thrown on the damp ground just like a rag doll that no one wanted to play with anymore.

Just like the woman who had been found more than a month before her, her body showed the black and blue signs of her fate. Her once shiny blonde hair was limp and dirty. Her mangled body that once had been soft and polished was now beat and broken and her once glowing skin was now pale and sallow.

Her face was turned towards the sky but her brown eyes didn't see the sun rise. She would never see the sun again.

* * *

The heels of Jennifer Jareau's sensible yet stylish black pumps clicked and clacked against the floor as she walked with swift steps towards the glass doors leading into the bullpen of the BAU. She had done this walk several times before but that meant in no way, shape or form that it ever got any easier. Especially when she had to do it late at night. And not at all when she had to do it directly after the team had come back from yet another lengthy case. But she had no choice. Their presence was very much needed and that left no time for rest.

Emily Prentiss, Derek Morgan and Dr. Spencer Reid were all standing around their desks in the middle of the bullpen. It was late at night and they were the only ones there. By the looks of it they were all getting ready for a night off. Some of them were heading home and some out, maybe to some bar.

Before continuing on her determined journey JJ stopped and turned around facing the other agents. "It's probably best if you wait a while. This is pretty bad..."

Watching as JJ turned and walked off towards the staircase Morgan let out a deep sigh and put his black duffel bag back onto his desk.

"Another day, another case." He huffed to himself and started making his way towards the conference room closely followed by Reid and Emily.

JJ continued up the stairs and stopped outside Aaron Hotchner's office knocking firmly on the door before entering quietly.

"You should see this, Hotch." She said with a sombre voice and handed him a thick brown folder.

Hotch took the proffered folder from her hand, looked it over reading the main entries and returned it to JJ with a stern gaze.

"Gather the team for a briefing, JJ. I'll be there in a couple of minutes."

As JJ left his office Hotch closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths as a way to steel himself and prepare himself for what would inevitably be another long case. He silently cursed whoever was behind this that would keep him away from his son for who knew how many more days.

Closing the door to his office he made his way to the conference room where the rest of the team was already sitting in their respective seats.

He gazed around at the faces of the team he thought of as a family. Morgan was staring at the screen with an annoyed expression. He was clearly peeved at having been robbed of his night off and the possibility of the company of a another warm body and the release that could provide.

Rossi was seated comfortably in the dark leather chair rolling his thumbs showing only a mild interest as he waited for the briefing to begin. He had seen it all before and there wasn't much that could to shake the oldest member of the team.

Reid was fidgeting like he always did. His long fingers were tapping the edge of the round table and his head was jerking between looking at the screen and looking at JJ making his floppy hair swish around his face. He looked impatient to the unfamiliar eye but it was just his body's way of trying to keep up with the speed of his brilliant mind.

Garcia, who today was dressed in a red and orange striped ensemble that made Hotch chuckle inwardly, was looking down at her hands. Presumably she was showing her chipped dark blue nail polish her undivided attention but he knew that she was as always just trying her hardest not to look at the pictures on the screen behind JJ. Trying to save what little innocence she had left.

Finally his eyes rested peacefully on Emily who was sitting with a straight back calmly waiting for JJ to begin. Her eyes held the same warm but determined look that they always did. That look that always made him feel comfortable no matter what the situation.

He made his way over to the table and sat down in his usual seat between Dave and Emily. As he sat down he caught a whiff of Emily's flowery perfume but ignored the lone butterfly trying to flutter through his stomach.

The team was complete and JJ turned on the screen showing four smiling faces.

"Police in Birka, Minnesota needs our help. A little more than a month ago Kelly White's body was found in an alleyway in the city center." With a slight dip of her head she indicated the picture of a laughing redhead on the screen. "She was reported missing by her mother 31 days prior to being found dead."

JJ let her eyes glide over the six focused faces before continuing on.

"Four days before Kelly was found Linda Shelton..." she indicated the only blonde on the screen " ...was reported missing by her husband." Taking a deep breath JJ continued. "Four days ago Linda was found dead in the same area as Kelly. Two days before she was found a third woman, Mary-Anne Nylund, was also reported missing by her husband. Yesterday a fourth woman, Denise Carlson, never came home from her yoga class. Local police are desperate for our help. The lead detective is certain that they have a serial and I have to agree." JJ finished looking at Hotch.

"So do I." Hotch picked up. "This is the work of the same unsub and he is escalating. He's become bolder taking two women only a few days apart and we can't count on him waiting a month before he kills them."

"Maybe he has to." Reid piped up. "Maybe he can't kill them any sooner. He might have some sort of ritual that takes a month to complete."

"That might be the case." Hotch agreed. "But I'm not taking any chances on this. The sooner we find him the better."

"What was the cause of death?" Morgan asked his eyes still firmly fixed on the four women on the screen.

JJ pressed the button switching to a photo of Kelly White's lifeless body. "Blunt force trauma to the head. That was the direct cause of death but when she was found she was covered in bruises. He beat them to death." JJ sighed.

"Okay, let's all go home and try to get some sleep. We'll be needing it." Hotch looked around the room at the members of his team. "Wheels up at 8 am. It's a two hour plane ride and we'll use that time to continue going over the case." With that he gave them all a look that told them that he was expecting them all to leave.

* * *

Glancing at her alarm clock Emily groaned as the red numbers told her that it was 2 am and even if she fell asleep in the next few minutes she'd only get four hours of sleep. Not that she got much more when they were away on a case and she could usually run on less. But they had just come back from a week long case and she really needed the rest.

Letting her head fall back onto the pillow Emily squeezed her eyes shut willing herself to doze off. But no sleep came. Whirling before her eyes was instead the chiseled face of her boss. His dark emotion filled eyes. His strong jaw and the rarely seen dimples. Sighing to herself she tried pushing Aaron Hotchner away but he wouldn't leave. He never left.

The first time he had highjacked one of her dreams was around six months earlier. A few months after she had found him alone in a hospital bed. At first it was just that one dream and she'd brushed it off as concern for a close friend. She couldn't even remember the dream. She just knew that it had starred him.

Then a few weeks later he'd crept into one of her dreams again. After that she only had to wait a week for his next appearance. And then visits from him in the depths of her dreams became a regular occurrence. But even though she dreamed of him at least once a week sometimes even three or four times she still didn't acknowledge her feelings. She tried convincing herself that it was just because he was her friend and nothing more.

Apparently though, her subconscious hadn't gotten that particular memo and one morning she woke up sweaty and panting. After that she just couldn't deny the attraction anymore. Not that it meant that she had _any_ plans on telling Hotch. It would just have to be one of those things that would be placed in a tiny box and stored somewhere deep in the back of her mind.

Finally sleep overpowered Emily and she floated off. Into her dream came the by now all too familiar pictures of a tall, dark and handsome man. Her conscious self hadn't realized it yet but the subconscious of Emily Prentiss knew that she was in love with her superior.

Jerking awake four hours later at the piercing sound of her alarm she could still feel Hotch's fingers on her skin. She closed her eyes again and allowed herself to be taken away by Aaron Hotchner once more.

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**A/N: Thanks so much for reading! Please let me know what you think. I'd really love some input. **

**I'll have the next chapter up before the end of the week.**

**Sussi**


	2. Rossi the observer

**Dark Eyes**

**A/N: Thanks so much to all who have read, reviewed, favorited and put this story on alert! You make me so happy!**

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**Chapter 2 – Rossi the observer**

Running up the steps of the BAU jet Emily almost lost her balance stumbling over her own two feet. She'd never been the most graceful of people and at the moment her clumsy tendencies were exaggerated by the fact that she was in an almighty hurry.

She'd accidentally fallen right back to sleep after the alarm had woken her. Then she'd slept nearly an hour and woken up with only forty five minutes to spare before take off. And it hadn't even been restful sleep. Who knew you could have a dream like _that_ in less than an hour?

As she slipped through the narrow entrance she was met by five sets of eyes all looking her way. Smiles were on the faces of JJ and Reid, Morgan uttered a cheery greeting and a polite nod was passed from Rossi. Finally Hotch's dark gaze met her eyes setting them on fire.

"Good morning, Princess!" Morgan laughed. He'd obviously gotten over last night's crankiness just fine. "So you _finally_ felt like gracing us with your presence?" He smirked raising a perfectly groomed eyebrow at her.

Glaring at him Emily replied by flipping him off behind her back and walked up to where Hotch was sitting. "Sorry, sir. I overslept." She explained giving him a weak smile.

"Don't worry about it, Prentiss." Hotch answered without looking up from the crime scene photos he had spread out across the small table. "You made it by a few minutes. We won't be delayed."

Emily gave him another smile and this time he looked up at her and gave her a slight half-smile back. The sight of the tiniest dimple appearing made her body tingle and she had to roughly push the mental image of him naked and in her bed to the back of her mind if she didn't want to turn into a puddle of goo on the cabin floor.

She let her eyes glide around the cabin taking in the common scenes playing before her. Reid was sprawled out on the couch going over some detail of the case. His lips was moving rapidly as he silently read. Morgan and Rossi were sitting next to each other talking vividly about something or other. The look in Morgan's eyes told her that it wasn't about the case. JJ was sitting in the seat closest to the entrance looking at something on her cell phone, probably pictures of Will and Henry.

The last seat left was the one next to Hotch who was sitting by himself opposite Rossi and Morgan. His entire attention was turned towards the pictures in front of him. She sat down next to him feeling the heat radiating from beneath his dark suit and once more she had to fight back the pictures flashing before her eyes.

* * *

After a while the jet was safely up in the air and everyone was busy going over the details of the case one last time. Rossi leaned back into the comfortable leather chair he was sitting in and took on the role of observer. He noticed Hotch glance ever so slightly to his right before restarting the discussion from the previous night.

"So, what do we know?" Hotch asked eying the team around him his gaze lingering just that tiny bit too long on Emily who was leafing through the case file.

Rossi wondered to himself if he was the only one who noticed.

"Well..." Emily began glancing down at the photos Hotch had spread across the table. "Except for the fact that they all have different hair colors they do share quite a few similarities."

"Yes they do." Hotch concurred also looking at the pictures of the smiling women. "They're all in their late thirties, about the same height and built and they all have brown eyes."

JJ nodded. "They're also all _very_ successful in their respective careers. Although in completely different fields." She indicated something written on the file she was holding. "Kelly was the head of marketing at a local cosmetics company and Linda owned a chain of bakeries." She glanced down at the file in her hand. "Mary-Anne is a lawyer at a large firm and Denise a high school principal."

"These are smart and beautiful women. He either uses an elaborate ruse or these are blitz attacks. I don't think he's charming them into coming with him." Morgan chimed in.

"You're right. It has to be a _really_ convincing act if he's using some sort of ruse." Emily cut in. "I can't see any of these women just willingly following some stranger. Besides Denise Carlson was taken late in the evening. She has a boyfriend and two kids that she was on her way home to. She wouldn't just leave them." She said with conviction

"That's probably the case." Hotch said turning to face her. "But at this point we can't rule anything out. We'll know more once we've talked to the coroner and the families."

He didn't get the chance to say anything else because at that point the laptop sitting in the middle of the small table came to life and Garcia's smiling face came into view.

"Good morning, my lovely crime fighters. This is your favorite goddess of information calling. Will you be taking the call or are you all just too darn busy being fantastic? " She greeted them cheerily. No one would ever be able to tell that she'd been up all night gathering information about the town they were now heading to.

"Hey, Baby Girl." Morgan shot her a row of brilliantly shining teeth. "You know very well that no one here could ever be as fantastic as you."

Garcia gave him a saucy smile. "Oh Sugar, stating the obvious!"

"What do you have, Garcia?" Hotch shot in trying to speed the process along.

"Other than my biting wit and flaming sex appeal, you mean?" She shot them another smile before becoming a lot more serious. "Well, I can tell you that you are right now on your way to Sleepy Town, USA. Population 125 000 and not a thug in sight. I'm telling you this is a totally uneventful place. Nothing happens there... Other than a few brutal murders that is."

"Go on, Garcia." Hotch prompted.

"You wanted me to see if I could find any other crimes in the area with a similar M.O." She said looking at them through the web cam. "So I searched for other crimes involving women beat to death or cases were they took a bad beating but survived. And let me tell you that was no fun at all."

"What did you find, Baby Girl?" Morgan asked in his sweetest voice.

"Nothing. I mean I've found cases of domestic violence and rape but _nothing_ this brutal in the last five years. This is a town filled to the brim with cookie cutter middle class families and little old ladies."

"Keep looking Garcia, there has to be something. Widen the search."

"Will do, oh captain, my captain! Garcia out." The screen went blank.

Reid who'd been quite most of the flight, most likely due to him losing himself in thought something he did more often than not, ran a hand through his messy hair. "I'm confused..." He said to no one in particular.

"So? What's new?" Morgan teased Reid earning himself a small reprimanding glare from Hotch.

"Go on, Reid." Hotch told him.

"I can't say if he is organized or unorganized." Reid exclaimed. "He seems to have some idea about what kind of women he wants. Then he holds them for a month. But he most likely blitzes them and then he beats them to death. And finally he just drops them badly concealed in semi-public places. He's all over the place."

"He wants them to be found." Morgan cut in. "He doesn't care about them and he wants everyone to know. He wants everyone to know what he thinks of these women. To him they're trash. He's probably got some kind of narcissistic disorder. "

They all felt the jet starting its descend before the pilot told them to strap themselves in. Focus was moved from the folders and pictures and again Rossi noticed glances between the two dark haired profilers. This time it was Emily sneaking an almost imperceptible look at Hotch. Rossi smiled.

"Alright." Hotch said looking around. "When we get to Birka JJ and I'll go to the police station and set up shop. Rossi and Reid you'll go to the coroner's office. See if you can find out how he takes the women and what he does to them while he has them. Prentiss and Morgan..." He looked at Morgan rather than Emily."I want you to go to the dump sites."

Rossi hadn't really contributed to the discussion. Although he'd agreed with everything that had been said he'd also been preoccupied. With watching their unit chief and the beautiful brunette next to him. Finally he noticed that when Hotch leaned back in his seat he brushed against Emily's bare arm. He could tell that the touch made her shiver a bit. He just wondered if Hotch had noticed that too.

* * *

After the jet touched ground and they were allowed to once again walk around the cabin there was a flurry of activity getting everything together. Reid had accidentally knocked his messenger bag over and was now crawling around on the floor searching for his lost keys to Morgan's great amusement.

"Oh... _Crap!_" Hotch heard from behind him and turned around to see Emily with a huge wet coffee stain on the front of her shirt. It made her white shirt cling distractingly to her ample form.

"Great, now this shirt is ruined." She muttered to herself not noticing Hotch looking at her. "Oh! And it's soaking right through. So a ruined bra to add to that... Just awesome." She looked up as she heard someone chuckling and saw Hotch displaying two small dimples. She'd never seen anything sweeter.

"You're almost as bad as Reid." Hotch smiled gesturing in the general direction of the genius still crawling around on the floor. "Maybe I should talk to Strauss about adding helmets into the budget for you two. Just in case."

"Ha! Very funny." She told Hotch sending a small glare his way. Although silently she was reveling in the fact that it was with _her_ he had decided to share one of his very _very_ rare jokes. God knows she had tried suppressing it but she just couldn't deny that her stomach did back flips every time he smiled at her.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think. I really appreciate it!**

**Next one will be up Wednesday.**

**/ Sussi**


	3. A pretty strange sight

**Dark Eyes**

**A/N: Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. I can't tell you how happy you make me!**

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter three – A pretty strange sight**

Detective Sally Granger had seen quite a lot in her forty-seven years on this planet. She'd been a beat cop in Minneapolis before moving to Birka to settle down and start a family with her husband. Doing something like that you saw _a lot_ of things. Some fun and some not so much.

But after moving to Birka and getting her promotion she'd mostly dealt with fairly simple things. Neighbors complaining about each others hedges and the height of their apple trees. People speeding and the occasional drunk. Sure she'd handled cases concerning abused women in Birka before. But _nothing_ like this.

In the last month she'd seen two of the most horrendous crime scenes she'd ever witnessed. So boy was she glad to see the team whose help she'd desperately requested walking towards her. Even if it was a pretty strange sight.

First came a petite blonde wearing a stylish charcoal pencil skirt and matching jacket. Sally was quite tall for her gender and to be frank quite wide as well. _Still_ she'd had problems with ignorant male officers, some of whom had been half a head shorter than her, thinking _she_ was too fragile to do this kind of job. So she could only image the things this agent had been told by sexist jerks.

After her came a tall nice looking dark skinned man wearing a fitted deep blue t-shirt. He had a large black duffel bag slung over his shoulder as easy as if it was made completely out of air. If Sally had been ten years younger and not quite as married who could tell what she'd have done.

Then came a slightly older gentleman. She'd guess he was in his mid to late fifties. The sports jacket and high waisted jeans told her so. But the obviously dyed black hair made him a little harder to pin point. She could however tell that he was walking with enough of a swagger to make Mick Jagger jealous.

After him came a skinny young man half walking half running awkwardly a few feet behind the others. He had long wild hair, an argyle sweater vest and his service weapon was sticking out from his narrow hip in a strange angle. She'd heard through the grape vine that the FBI housed quite a few eccentric geniuses. Maybe this was one of them.

That however only made four and she knew that the team consisted of five profilers and the liaison Agent Jareau whom she'd spoken to on the phone. Turning her head slightly upwards she saw another man exit the plane. Now _this_ was the epitome of the FBI she thought to herself. Tall and dark. Wearing a black perfectly fitting suit, crisp white shirt and dark red tie. Making his way towards the rest of the team with long deliberate strides he looked like he could terrify death himself. Sally reflected on how her own officers would react to this particular agent. The words "hiding under desk" came to mind and she smiled to herself.

* * *

"Detective Granger?" JJ smiled offering her hand for the older woman to shake. "I'm Agent Jareau, we spoke on the phone."

"It's nice to meet you. And please it's Sally." Detective Granger smiled a warm smile back shaking JJ's hand.

"Okay, Sally. These are Agents Hotchner, Morgan, Rossi, Dr. Reid and..." JJ looked around searching for Emily. "Hmm, I seem to have misplaced one agent." She said with a smile looking at Hotch who'd been the last to exit the jet.

"Agent Prentiss is on her way." Hotch explained. "She had a coffee related accident and is just changing her shirt. Ah, there she is." He looked towards the jet and saw Emily hurrying towards them. A small gasp he dearly hoped that no one else heard left his lips as he saw _what_ she had changed into. Under her black suit jacket he could see _that_ red tank top. She hadn't worn that in a while but seeing it on her again made him realize just how much he'd missed it.

He was pulled back from his walk down memory lane by the sound of Detective Granger's voice.

"I've organized two vehicles that is completely to your disposal during your time here." She pointed at two dark SUV:s. "Right now I'm going back to the station so anyone who's also going there can ride with me."

"Thank you." Hotch said back in complete agent mode. "Myself and Agent Jareau will go to the station. Could you have one of your officers meet Agent Morgan and Agent Prentiss at the last dump site?"

"Of course. I'll send Officer Newton to meet them there." Sally told him with a smile and got into her car.

* * *

The station was surprisingly nice. By far one of the nicest they'd visited. It was airy and bright and Hotch guessed that it hadn't been built that long ago. Detective Granger showed them the room they'd been given to set up in and again Hotch was pleasantly surprised. It was an, at least by their standards, large room with a big round table in the middle. Around the table were enough chairs for all of them and in the front was a large whiteboard. There even were a few armchairs in the back.

Detective Granger poked a smiling face through the door. "Is the room okay?" She asked. "This is a pretty small station but this is our largest room."

"This is perfect. Thank you." JJ smiled at her. "Believe me we've seen _a lot_ worse. This is actually one of the nicest conference rooms we've had. Once we had to set up in a remodeled supply closet. Poor Reid hit his head on the lamp so many times we were afraid he'd pass out."

"I'm glad this is better. Is there anything else that you need?"

"We need to set up a direct link with our technical analyst back in Quantico." Hotch told her.

"I'll get our techie to set you up." Detective Granger promised.

"Thank you." Hotch answered giving her an appreciative nod and turned to JJ. "Alright JJ, let's start setting things up. We need to begin victimology as soon as possible." He said and started putting up photos on the whiteboard.

To the very left he put up the smiling portrait of Kelly White. Under that picture he put the ones from the crime seen of her limp body loosely wrapped in a sheet. Then he put up the picture of Linda Sheldon with the pictures of her crime scene underneath. Then the picture of a happy Mary-Anne Nylund and finally the one of Denise Carlson.

His eyes were involuntarily drawn to the picture of Mary-Anne. Her long dark hair, glowing dark brown eyes and pretty red lips reminded him _too_ much of another woman. Of her soft raven hair and deep caring eyes. And her scent. And her warm smile that always made him tremble.

"Hotch? Hotch?"

He heard JJ's voice in the background and snapped back to reality. "Sorry, JJ. What did you want?" He asked giving her a tight smile.

"Wow, Hotch. Where did you go?" JJ asked changing the subject. How they were going to deal with the media could wait. She'd seen how his eyes had glazed over and how he'd gotten a distant look in them. And she wasn't blind to other things either. She saw the extreme likeness between the dark haired women on the board and their own dark haired woman.

"Nowhere." He answered tersely. "Now, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

Realizing that she'd never get him to open up about what she _really_ wanted to talk to him about, even though she knew that she had some information that he'd find interesting, JJ changed the subject back.

"How are we going to deal with the press? Sally says that they haven't sniffed anything out yet but it might be only a matter of time before someone connects the dots."

"I don't want this guy to get _any_ attention, JJ. That's exactly what he wants." Hotch told her with stern eyes. "And keep the knowledge of our involvement as close as possible. If he finds out that we're here looking for him he might spook enough to kill both women."

"I'll get right on it, Hotch." JJ said and left the conference room in search of Detective Granger to give her instructions.

Hotch looked up again at the evidence board and let out a deep sigh. Then he sank down into one of the plush armchairs and closed his eyes. Again came images of the beautiful brunette uninvited into his mind. Her creamy skin and big red lips. He couldn't help but wonder just how soft that skin and those lips were.

* * *

Morgan looked around the brightly lit alley behind a sushi restaurant, a jewelers and a boutique selling handmade cashmere scarfs. The body of Linda Sheldon, the second victim, had been found here next to a dumpster by the owner of the restaurant when he came to open the place up last Sunday morning.

This was some place to dump a body. The unsub had obviously dumped her there during the night because there was no way someone wouldn't have seen him if it had been light out. It wasn't far from one of the main shopping streets and that street was littered with people walking around in the warm spring sun spending this month's, he assumed, healthy paycheck.

"And you are absolutely sure that none of these establishments have any kind of security cameras facing this way?" He asked Officer Newton, or Newt as he liked to be called, who'd met them there thirty minutes earlier.

"Positive, Sir." The young officer answered and Morgan smiled at his formality. If he was this strict with him who didn't even look much like a senior agent how would he take to Hotch?

"I've already asked them just about a hundred times and they all say the same thing. They have cameras inside and facing the front of the building. Nothing back here."

"Alright." Emily cut in. "So that's a dead end. I wonder if the unsub knew that there'd be no security cams here or if he chose this place because it meant something to him."

"Yeah." Morgan nodded. "We need to see the first dump site too." He turned to Officer Newton again. "Newt, could you show us the first dump site?"

"Sure." Officer Newton answered. "It's not that far from here. Maybe 10 minutes or so by car. If the traffic isn't too bad. And it never is."

Ten minutes later Morgan and Emily exited the dark SUV that Detective Granger had got them and walked to where Officer Newton was standing. They were in another alley, this one a little darker and not as visible from the street next to it.

"This is pretty close to the first dump site." Emily said looking around her at the cobble stone and white walls.

"It is, Ma'am." Officer Newton said dragging the words. He didn't feel comfortable contradicting an FBI agent. Especially one that was so pretty. "But then again everything in this town is. The city center here is small. Birka mostly comprises of residential areas."

"We shouldn't rule anything out just yet." Morgan told him. "But we can probably say that the unsub either works or lives somewhere in this area." Then he looked around. "How about these places?" Morgan asked Officer Newton pointing at the diner and the vintage clothes shop that shared the alley. "Do they have any kind of security here?" He could see what the answer would be from the slight frown between Officer Newton's blonde eyebrows.

"No. None. We've checked."

"Okay." Morgan said frowning. "We've seen all we can here. Let's get back to the station and see if Hotch and JJ has found anything of interest. Newt, lead the way, man."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks! Please leave a review!**

**Next chapter will be up Saturday.**

**/ Sussi**


	4. Even FBI agents are allowed a sex life

**Dark Eyes**

**A/N: Thanks so much for reading! Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter four – Even FBI agents are allowed a sex life**

Walking through the doors into the station Emily noticed Detective Granger talking to JJ. She quickly decided that she was going to take the opportunity to quietly ask the detective if she knew of any shop where she could get her severely coffee stained bra replaced. She'd been in such a hurry this morning that she'd _completely_ forgotten to put the stack of nicely folded freshly laundered clothes lying next to her go bag into that go bag.

"Excuse me, Detective Granger?" Emily said as Morgan walked by her over to where Hotch was standing a few feet behind them.

"Yes, Agent Prentiss. And again please it's Sally." Detective Granger gave Emily a warm smile her bright green eyes twinkling.

"I was just wondering if there's any place near here where I could get some new underwear that you could recommend. I don't want to have to run around looking for a place but I really need a new bra." Emily explained.

"Okay, let me think." Detective Granger said pinching her chin. "You're staying at the Cheryl Hotel, right?" She asked.

"Yes we are." JJ, who was listening to the conversation, shot in.

"There actually is a small but very nice and affordable lingerie boutique, Harding's Lingerie, just a block from that hotel. It's my personal favorite... And my husband's too if you know what I mean?"

Both JJ and Emily smiled at the older women although both were thinking whether they really wanted to know just what she meant.

Oblivious to the slightly red tinted cheeks on both female agents in front of her Detective Granger continued. "He gave me this really lovely lacy set that he'd bought there last Valentine's Day. And honey." She gave Emily a smile and a knowing look. "Don't you worry. They cater to bustier girls as well."

Emily was sure she could hear Morgan's amused snort and choked laughter in the background but ignored him and gave Detective Granger her most grateful smile. "Thank you, Sally. That really helps."

Emily _really_ _was_ grateful to Detective Granger for her suggestion because it gave her a chance to get the necessary shopping she had to do out of the way without having to run around several different shops.

JJ was also glad because this gave her an opportunity to talk to Emily in private. She'd take Emily with her to check in at the hotel. Then the two of them could do some quick shopping and have a _long_ conversation.

Hotch and Morgan had at first been discussing what Morgan and Emily had seen at the dump site but both men had inevitably fallen silent when they heard the topic of the women's conversation. Morgan had sniggered and leaned in closer not hiding his eavesdropping at all. Hotch on the other hand had just stood there confused. Why was it that women could talk to an almost complete stranger about something like that. If he told Rossi or Morgan about his new boxers they'd both laugh their asses off.

He didn't get the chance to delve deeper into that line of thought because a smiling JJ came up next to him.

"Hotch, if you don't need us right now Emily and I are going to go check in at the hotel and make sure that the rooms are okay."

"That's fine JJ. Just come back here when you're done. We have to wait for Reid and Rossi to get back from the coroner before continuing anyway."

* * *

As they were driving down the wide street towards the hotel Emily looked around at the tall white buildings with their candy striped awnings and got a strange feeling she'd already seen some of them. When she saw the diner she realized why. She _had_ seen them before.

"JJ, this is just one street over from the first dump site!" She exclaimed at the blonde who was driving the large SUV.

"Really? I wonder why no one thought to mention _that_. It would have been kind of nice to know that." JJ frowned behind her dark sunglasses.

"Oh, well. Nothing we can do about it now." Emily smiled as JJ pulled up next to an impressive fifteen story building entirely in white and gold.

"Wow." JJ said squinting at the bright building. "This is one of the fancier places we've stayed at. I don't know about you but I'm keeping my fingers crossed there's a jacuzzi in my room. Although, maybe you're hoping for something along the line of a heart shaped bed or maybe a mirrored ceiling." She sniggered and winked at Emily.

Emily knew very well what JJ was getting at but didn't feel like having a discussion about _that_ right at the moment. Instead she wandered off taking a look around the lobby finding both a fancy restaurant and a dimly lit bar.

"Is everything okay with the rooms?" She asked as JJ was handed the key cards from a cockily smiling man in a red uniform behind the gilded counter.

"Yep." JJ answered much too fast and Emily knew that something was up but let it go as JJ dragged her out the door cheerily trilling "Let's go shopping!"

Strolling down the crowded street lined with birch trees and big stone pots filled with yellow tulips and daisies they finally spotted the small but charming lingerie boutique that Detective Granger had recommended.

"Harding's." Emily said looking at the big pink lettering on the sign. "Let's go and see what we can find."

As they walked down the narrow aisles between push up bras, lace teddies and frilly panties Emily kept her eyes open for something simple and classic.

JJ was also looking for something simple. A simple way to open up a conversation about Hotch. As Emily looked at a plain black bra JJ saw something much more fun and a great ice breaker.

"What about this one?" JJ asked giving Emily a devilish smile as she held up a red see-through baby doll nightie. "I know someone who'd really love this on you!" She sing songed shooting Emily another bright smile.

"I have _no idea_ what you mean." Emily gave her a look of fake innocence. "Besides it's not like I'd have _any_ use for something like that." She continued shooting JJ a small glare.

"_Of course_ you know what I mean! And _who_ for that matter." JJ shot back holding up another nightie, this one black and lacy. "What about this one then?"

"JJ, come on! You know as well as I that I can't do anything about it."

"Why not? Even FBI agents are allowed a sex life!" JJ exclaimed throwing her hands in a dramatic gesture.

"_Not_ with their superiors!" Emily contradicted. "Now you wait here while I go pay for these." She said wiggling two basic black bras in front of JJ's face.

Emily smiled as the clerk gave her her change and a white paper bag with pink tissue paper sticking out at the top. She could already hear Morgan's remarks and see Reid's bright red face.

"Thanks so much." She told the clerk accepting the bag.

"Thank you, Ma'am." He answered smiling back. "Please come again."

Stepping out into the warm and fragrant spring weather JJ knew she didn't want to end her conversation with Emily. This was too important. She wanted her friend to know that she could have what JJ knew she wanted with Hotch. She wasn't one hundred percent sure of their supervisor's feelings but she had a pretty good idea.

"Hey, do you want to grab a cup of coffee before going back?" JJ asked Emily pointing at a cozy looking cafe a few yards ahead. "We haven't had any lunch yet and I'm sure that Rossi and Reid won't be back for another hour."

"Yes. Coffee sounds like a great idea." Emily replied giving her friend a smile as she opened the white door to the cafe.

As they sank down into the soft and squishy deep red cushioned seats on opposite sides of a white-painted table a cute waiter put two frothy cappuccinos in front of them. JJ giggled as she noticed the waiter's eyes lingering on Emily.

"Ooh, Em you've got an admirer!" She laughed not so subtly indicating the young dark haired man still looking their way.

"Come on, JJ. He doesn't even look like he's twenty five!"

"Yeah and we all know that you have a thing for _older_ men."

"Oh my God! Are we back to this again?" Emily asked throwing her scrunched up napkin at JJ. "Please tell me w_hy_ I told you about that dream?"

"I believe that a few too many of Garcia's super special secret cocktails had something to do with it." JJ sniggered.

Sighing Emily looked out the window at the stylish 30-something women swishing by outside and flashed back to that night a month ago when she'd become stupendously hammered on some fruity drinks that Garcia had made and had accidentally let slip that she'd had a pretty vivid sex dream staring their supervisor.

Of course neither Garcia nor JJ had been willing to let the whole thing go. Finally after several explicit threats of severe hard drive damage, courtesy of their computer queen, Emily had caved and told them about the events of the dream. How he'd done the most wonderful things with his hands... _and his tongue_. She shuddered just thinking about it.

After that both JJ and Garcia had been privately badgering her about telling Hotch how she felt. But she just couldn't imagine doing that. Hotch's a total stickler for the rules. Even if, and that's a big if, he maybe felt _something_ for her he'd never ever act on it. So why set herself up for disappointment?

JJ could tell by the expression on Emily's face what she was thinking. She was letting her doubts get the best of her.

"Emily." She said patting her hand. "I really think that you two can be happy together. But for that to happen you have to just close your eyes and jump."

"But JJ, he hardly looks at me anymore. He's been distancing himself off ever since..." She looked down at her hands holding the cup. "Uh... since Haley."

"And I got a pretty good idea why." JJ smiled warmly at her. "Em, he looks at you. It's just that he's stealthy. But he looks at you. He looks at you with one of the most serene expressions that I've seen on his face in a _long_ time."

Emily just smiled at JJ. Too many thoughts were whirling in her mind to make up any words. She took a long sip of her cappuccino as her mind deftly drew a picture of a possible future for her. A picture where she was happy together with Hotch.

* * *

**A/N: Don't be shy... leave a review! Please...**

**/ Sussi**


	5. Pretty houses and party tricks

**Dark Eyes**

**A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing. Please enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter five – Pretty houses and party tricks**

Reid leaned back in the passenger seat of the black SUV he was currently sharing with Rossi. He _never_ got to drive. You miss an exit and _accidentally_ end up in a field _once _and you're forever banned from driving.

He looked out the window from behind his dark Ray Bans. Outside house after identical brightly colored house swirled by. It looked as though someone had opened a gigantic PEZ dispenser and let the sweets fall in neat rows next to the street with a few swimming pools, flower beds and leafy green trees thrown in for good luck. He wondered if anyone living in any of those pink, green and yellow houses knew what kind of evil lurked in their quiet town. Maybe even evil lived in a pretty little house with a neatly mowed lawn.

He turned and watched Rossi. The older man didn't notice. He had his eyes on the road but Reid could tell from the pinch between his brows that he was deep in thought. Maybe he was thinking about what they'd learned at the coroner's office. About the horrible things this unsub did to his victims. Or maybe his thoughts were of a nicer and more lighthearted kind. Reid had noticed earlier on the jet how Rossi had been quiet for most of the flight. He'd been concerned and looked over at him to check that he was okay.

That was when he had noticed what Rossi was watching. He'd followed his line of sight and landed on Hotch. And Hotch had been looking at Emily. But not in a supervisor subordinate kind of way. More in a way that someone would look at the object of their affection. Not even Reid, who admittedly was a bit socially awkward but in no way blind, could have missed the look in his unit chief's eyes. Reid smiled.

* * *

"Hey!" Emily greeted Reid and Rossi from her place in one of the armchairs as they walked into the airy room the BAU team had to their disposal. She and JJ had come back from their outing a short while earlier and after a snarky comment to Morgan about how he'd never get to see the contents of her shopping bag she was back in complete professional Agent Prentiss mode.

Hotch looked up when he heard Emily's greeting and saw the two remaining agents walk into the room. Rossi had a worry wrinkle between his eyes and Reid was looking slightly distraught. There was no way this was going to be good. "What did you find out?" He asked.

"Nothing good." Rossi confirmed sinking down onto one of the chairs by the table.

"We know now that they are blitz attacks." Reid explained. "There was bruising on both victims' heads that indicated that they'd received a blow to the back of the head around a month before being found. So now we can at least rule out that the unsub was using a ruse."

"I'm sensing that there's more to this." Morgan shot in looking first at Reid and then at Rossi.

"I think it's safe to say that these women represent someone close to the unsub. Wife, girlfriend, mother." Rossi sighed.

"Yes the level of rage he is displaying definitely points to that." Reid agreed.

"Both autopsies showed signs of starvation and of sexual assault. Both had also been beaten badly before he killed them. He's probably hitting them in the face with some sort of bat or steel pipe." Rossi explained.

"He starves them." Hotch thought out loud. "That could be a means to weaken his victims or it's part of the sexual component." He frowned and crossed his strong arms over his chest. "These women are fit. He might not to be able to control them before they've been starved."

"Or he gets sexual gratification from watching them become weaker. From taking away something that's necessary for life." Emily chimed in.

At that point Morgan's cell started buzzing bringing their discussion to an end.

"Hey Mama. You're on speaker. Behave." He warned.

"Great!" Garcia answered. "It's _always_ more fun in a group." Her cheeky voice rang out from the cell and Morgan groaned.

"Tell me you have some good news, Baby Girl."

"Good and bad, Sugar. Let's say I give the good first. I've been able to track the credit cards of all victims. And they all like to patron the same establishments."

"That's great Garcia." Reid exclaimed.

"Not so fast there, Junior. Don't forget there's bad news too. And those are that they all _completely_ overlap. They shop at the same boutiques, they get coffee at the same cafes and they eat at the same restaurants. They generally seem to move in the area of the dump sites though."

"Then we should work under the assumption that the unsub lives or works in that area." Hotch told them.

"My thoughts also, Boss man. But since I can't find just one or two places that all four victims have gone to repeatedly, that number is closer to thirty and that means at least three hundred employees, I don't think we can find the unsub this way. Sorry guys."

"Do a background check on the employees of those places anyway, Garcia." Hotch told her. "We might find something."

"I'll get right on it. Talk to you later my gang of gorgeous garden gnomes!"

"Alright." Hotch began but paused a moment letting Garcia's parting words sink in. "There's nothing more we can do right now. Let's get some dinner and then head to the hotel. We have to interview the families tomorrow and we should try to get some rest."

* * *

They'd all been much too tired to even think about finding some other place to eat than the hotel restaurant. So the six of them were all seated around a table in one of the corners of the small romantic restaurant.

Emily was sitting between JJ and Morgan and next to him Reid was sitting. Rossi was on JJ's other side and next to him, across from Emily was Hotch. The restaurant usually didn't cater to such large groups and even though they'd been seated at the largest table it was still a tight squeeze. If Emily stretched her leg out she'd be able to touch certain parts of Hotch and that thought was thoroughly distracting. Fortunately for her the waiter came to take their orders and all attention was turned towards him and not her and the blush creeping over her cheeks.

They'd always had the silent agreement not to talk about a case during dinner. They got enough of the blood and the gore and the sadness during the day so they tried keeping dinner conversation easy and lighthearted. They sometimes talked about Jack and about Henry. Reid would do magic tricks. Rossi shared stories from the good ole days and if probed enough he'd sometimes tell stories of how he won the hearts of Mrs. Rossi number one, two and three.

"Hey, Reid." Emily caught his attention. "Do you have any new fun magic tricks?" She asked grinning at the genius.

"Oh! I can make a napkin disappear." Reid happily squeaked starting to fold his napkin.

"No. _Please_ don't get him started!" Morgan whined as Reid gave him an affronted look and stopped folding the napkin.

"Fine." Emily gave Morgan a wide smile. "What about you then? What's your special skill?"

"Well, Princess..." Morgan winked at her. "I _could_ tell you. But maybe I'd better _show_ you."

"Oh. Ew. No. That _wasn't_ what I meant." Emily shuddered giving Morgan a glare. "I meant like a party trick or something."

"None. I'm not really an entertainer in that sense of the word." He shot her a grin. "What about you though. Do _you_ have some special skill?" Morgan smirked at her.

The rest of the team had been quiet watching the events unfold. Reid was still sulking because no one wanted to see his trick with the vanishing napkin. Hotch was listening to the easy banter between Morgan and Emily wishing he could say things like that to her. And JJ and Rossi were watching Hotch.

"You know what. I do have one thing. Wait a second, I'll be right back." Emily told them and made her way over to the bar.

They could see how she leaned over the bar and said something to the bartender. He smiled at her and gave her something. Then she came back and put a jar filled with something red on the table.

"Is that maraschino cherries?" Reid asked. "What are you going to do with those? You know, I can make one of them disappear."

"So can I!" JJ said with a smile putting one of the cherries in her mouth. "Ta da!"

Emily and the rest of the team laughed. Then she gave them a wide smile. "That's impressive JJ. But what do you think about this?" She smiled and bit the cherry off its stem.

Hotch was completely transfixed. He couldn't tear his eyes from her mouth. Everyone else was also watching her so no one would think twice about him staring at her but even if they had he wouldn't have cared.

He watched her smile and swallow the cherry. Then she put the stem in her mouth and he could see that she swished it around a little. He followed the movement inside her mouth closely. Her full red lips were pursed together and her eyes were coated with concentration. He couldn't remember a time when he had been more turned on than he was right at that moment.

Finally a smile spread across her face and her eyes twinkled as she pulled from her mouth the cherry stem tied in a perfect little not. "Top _that_!" She smiled at Morgan, JJ and Reid.

"Damn, girl!" Morgan exclaimed. "That will be one lucky bastard who you'll do that to."

Rossi could sense rather than hear the deep sigh that left Hotch's body at that statement.

"Actually..." Reid began looking at Morgan. "The ability to tie a cherry stem with ones tongue isn't a sign that you're a good kisser. It just means that you have a strong tongue."

The thought of just _what_ Emily's strong tongue could do to him started slowly making its way into his mind but was stopped by the distraction of the waiter bringing them their food. Never had Hotch been happier to see steak and potatoes.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think! **

**That incredibly stupid decision to cut AJ Cook and reduce Paget Brewster's role has almost killed my muse. If you haven't already, please sign the petition to keep them!**

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**Sussi**


	6. Good talk

**Dark Eyes**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone!**

**Just so you know, the last part of this chapter might be stretching the t-rating a teensy bit... But I'm guessing you don't mind.**

* * *

**Chapter six – Good talk**

Wiping his mouth and contently patting his belly Rossi smilingly sank back in his chair and took a sip from his water glass. Knowing that he'd probably have a visitor later that night honoring one of their traditions he'd opted for a non-alcoholic beverage at dinner.

That little trick that Emily had pulled earlier had probably gotten Hotch's blood pumping and Rossi was sure that he'd be needing a bourbon later. That tradition had started after the case with the three men who mercilessly beat people to death. At first Emily had been a part of the tradition. But after Foyet and Haley happened Hotch had started seeking him out when Emily wasn't around. And the last couple of months it had become a regularity during cases that he and Hotch would meet for a drink and talk.

Rossi had watched both Hotch and Emily during the day and during their dinner. He'd seen Hotch's dark eyes fixated on Emily and he'd seen Emily's flushed cheeks when she looked across the table at Hotch. Rossi had been around the block enough times to know when he was seeing love. And at the moment he was seeing it right in front of him.

"I don't know about you all but I'm beat and we all have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." JJ's voice pulled Rossi from his inner musings.

"Here are your key cards. I've arranged so that our go bags are waiting for us in our rooms." She gave Emily a knowing look and started handing out the keys. "Rossi, Spence and Morgan you have rooms 602, 603 and 604. Emily and Hotch you have rooms 704 and 705, that's on the _seventh_ floor. I have room 601."

Emily could hear the pride in JJ's voice and knew that this was not something that the hotel staff had arranged.

"Why aren't we all on the same floor?" Hotch asked looking at JJ.

"The hotel didn't have enough rooms on the same floor." JJ lied seamlessly. It wasn't for nothing she was the one dealing with the press. "Just a coincidence it was you and Emily who got those rooms."

"Okay." Hotch said. "As long as no one is alone on a floor I'm okay with not everyone being on the same. Head off to bed people. It's a long day tomorrow."

* * *

Twenty minutes after the team had dispersed and the members had headed off to their own rooms the knock that Rossi had been waiting for sounded at his door. He opened and outside stood the man he'd been expecting holding two glasses filled with an amber liquid.

"I took the liberty of ordering you a bourbon." Hotch said. "Hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. Come on in, Aaron. Have a seat." Rossi answered gesturing at the little seating area next to the window.

"So, this is a step up from some of the places we've stayed at." Hotch smiled a tight smile at Rossi placing himself in one of the beige armchairs.

Rossi knew that Hotch was avoiding what he _really_ wanted to talk about and was trying his best at making small talk. He'd humor him for now.

"Yeah, I remember one place we stayed at a few years before I retired. That place in Nashville. Do you remember it?"

"How could I forget?" Hotch chuckled. "We only had one room and you and Jason made me sleep on the balcony."

"Well, what can I tell ya." Rossi shrugged at Hotch. "There was just the one bed that Gideon took and that tiny couch that I got stuck with. At least it was warm at night." He gave Hotch a smile. "This place even got those big hot tubs in the bathroom. I'm guessing that's where the girls are right now." He said trying to steer the conversation down the path he wanted it.

Hotch didn't bite. Instead he led the conversation in on their current case. "Do you think that they're still alive?" He asked taking a sip of his drink.

"We always operate under the assumption that they are and we should do that now as well." Rossi answered looking intently at the younger man as if trying to see through his skull and read his mind.

He knew that Hotch hadn't come to reminisce about old times. Or to talk about the case. They usually didn't during their late night bourbon sessions. It was his way of keeping Hotch on track. Of not letting him completely close himself off.

"It's just the escalation that worries me." Hotch told him. "What if he decides that he can't handle two women at the same time and kills one of them. Or both."

"Then we'll have to deal with that." Rossi calmly answered. Taking a deep breath he decided to take charge of the conversation. "Come on, Aaron. That's not what's bothering you."

"It's not?" Hotch frowned.

"No and you know it. I've seen the way you look at her and I know that this isn't a recent development." Rossi gave him an encouraging smile. "This has been a long time coming and I think that you should tell her."

"Tell her what?" Hotch knew he was fighting a losing battle but he didn't know if he felt comfortable discussing this. But he knew that Dave saw right through him.

"Oh, stop with the playing dumb act, Aaron. It doesn't suit you." Rossi told him raising an eyebrow. "Tell Emily that you want to have something other than friendship with her."

"You know I can't do that. She's my subordinate. I'm the supervisor." Hotch knew the rules, there was no way he could have what he wanted. He took another sip trying to let the warming liquid ward away the chill that was creeping over him.

"Oh screw the rules for once, Hotch!" Rossi exclaimed.

"I don't even know if she wants anything other than friendship with me." Hotch said but didn't meet Rossi's eyes. He didn't want his former mentor to see the hurt in his eyes. That was too private.

"I can't speak for Emily, but I know what I've seen. I've seen the way she acts when you're around and to me it certainly looks like you're more that just a friend to her. Don't over think this, Hotch. Just do exactly what you want for once. You won't regret it."

Hotch opened his mouth intending to say something but Rossi cut him off.

"No, Aaron. Trust me on this. You'll both be a lot happier if you just give in to it. And if anyone deserves to be happy it's you." Rossi smiled at his friend.

Hotch stayed quiet a while just looking out the window at the twinkling lights outside. He clutched the empty tumbler in his hands so tight his knuckles turned white. Rossi could see the wheels turning inside his head.

"I'm going to go back to my room." Hotch said as he finally spoke and got up from the plush chair. "Thanks for the talk, Dave."

"I'm happy to help. Think about what I said." Rossi gave him a pat on the back.

"I will." Hotch said and closed the door behind him.

All the way up the stairs to the seventh floor Hotch thought about what Rossi had said. But what Rossi didn't know was that Hotch had been really close to taking that plunge several months ago.

He had realized that his feelings for Emily were deeper than friendship a few months before Foyet had attacked him. And then after the attack he'd wanted so badly to just grab a hold of her and never let her go. But he didn't because he didn't know what to say or how she'd react.

Then Foyet came back. After that he thought he'd never be able to be with anyone again and he'd pushed his feelings for Emily deep down into the dark. And he'd kept them hidden there until that night when JJ came rushing through the door and told them that Emily had been in an accident. Then all those emotions came rushing back.

That was months ago and he still hadn't figured out what to do or what to say. Maybe Dave was right. Maybe he should just do exactly what he wanted for once and not think so much about it.

* * *

He didn't hear her entering the room but all of a sudden there she was. Standing next to the bed wearing one of his dress shirts, red heels and with a cherry between her teeth. He momentarily flashed on how strange it was that she'd brought something like that with her on a case but he quickly shook that thought from his mind. There was a stunning half-naked woman standing in front of him. Just go with it.

She didn't say anything. She just looked at him with lust coated eyes letting her hands trail along her body and up under the shirt. His eyes followed the path her hands made and he felt himself tremble.

As she slid into his bed she shrugged the offending piece of fabric off and he could hear himself utter a strangled gasp as her naked body touched his. He felt as if his skin was on blazing fire.

He wanted to grab her. He wanted to grab a firm hold of her waist and roughly push her onto her back and make her scream his name. Feel her. Taste her. Show her what a capable man he was. But she didn't give him the chance. She shoved him down on the bed and climbed on top of him. Placing her bare thighs on either side of his stomach her heat brushing against him. He could feel her excitement and his own arousal growing by the second.

Her hungry lips came crashing down on his demanding his attention. And he gave it. He wrapped his arms firmly around her pulling her flush against him. He could feel every little effect he was having on her body and he was certain that she could feel the effects she had on him.

A moan left his lips as she scratched her nails over his chest and he could hear her softly purring as he slipped a deft hand between her thighs. Her little noises were driving him wild. Pulling her even closer he latched on to her neck sucking and nibbling. Leaving his mark right where it belonged.

Then she started slowly sliding down his body away from him and from his hands and at first he growled when he no longer was able to reach certain parts of her body. But as he felt her lips leaving a trail of wet kisses along his body and he realized where she was going he couldn't help but buck into her hot touch. As her warm mouth finally engulfed him his eyes glazed over and he could swear he heard bells in the distance. Then the sound grew closer. Strange.

With a start the alarm on Hotch's cell phone pulled him from the best dream he'd had in a long time. Running a hand across his face wiping the sweat from his brow he sighed a deep long sigh. If that wasn't his subconscious telling him to do something about it he didn't know what was.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading. A little H/P action there for ya even if it was just a dream... Let me know what you thought! Pretty please... :-)**

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**Sussi**


	7. Changing the dynamics

**Dark Eyes**

**A/N: Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate it!**

**On a different note, myself and **_**phoebe9509 **_**have started the best discussion forum ever – The Smut Club! It's ****the**

** place to be if you want to discuss all things smuttylicious! Come one, come all and let's talk smut! **

**

* * *

**

**Chapter seven - Changing the dynamics**

Straightening his blue-and-gray striped tie Hotch took one final look in the mirrored wall before exiting the elevator he'd been occupying by himself on the ride down from the seventh floor. As he walked into the lobby he had to stop for a moment and take a deep breath. By a table in the restaurant clutching a white generic coffee cup was Emily. For a second he didn't know what to do. He just stood there. He didn't even know if his legs still were in their proper working order.

During the short moment he was frozen to the ground he thought about what Dave had said the night before. Then his mind brought back a vivid image of Emily in his dress shirt. And he knew what he wanted to do. But he wasn't sure if he was ready to just blindly dive in. Baby steps, he thought to himself. Start with baby steps.

He really wanted her to know that she'd been a permanent fixture in his battered heart for almost as much as a year. Maybe longer. But he couldn't open with that. He needed to change the dynamics between them. He needed to make the small adjustments to make them less Agent Hotchner and Agent Prentiss and more Aaron and Emily.

They had started to slowly make that transition several months before but the tragedy that had made him doubt his life and everyone in it had stopped him in his tracks. But now he was sure and he was going to let her know. He was just going to take it slow.

* * *

"Good morning, Emily."

Emily jerked her head from the paper she was reading in surprise as she heard the greeting combined with her name. She knew who it was. How could she not recognize that deep masculine voice? But that voice using her first name wasn't something she was used to.

"Ehm... Morning, Hotch." She managed when the initial surprise had faded. She even managed to give him a slight smile. One that he returned displaying both dimples as he slid into the chair next to her. When he sat down his knee bumped hers and she found herself wondering if he had done it on purpose.

Even though their knees just touched for a second Hotch could feel her body heat radiating and felt a pang of loss when they were no longer touching. Motioning to the waitress for another pot of coffee Hotch was about to say something to Emily when a booming voice behind them rang out.

"Oh my! Was that not one of the best nights in a hotel bed you've ever had? _Not_ counting the ones when you weren't alone...of course." Morgan shot them a wide grin.

Again Hotch flashed back to last night's dream. He was sure that he could still taste cherries on his lips.

"I know." Emily answered turning her entire attention onto Morgan. "And that huge bathtub. If JJ doesn't show up at least we'll know where she is." She chuckled.

"You are _so_ right." The happy voice of the liaison reached their ears. "That's exactly where I should and would be." She sat down next to Emily and leaned in closer making sure that Hotch wasn't listening. "And _you_ should be all tangled up with our fearless leader in one of those big soft beds. After all the trouble I went through making sure that you'd have your privacy the least you could do is...well _him_." She raised an eyebrow at Emily.

"JJ!" Emily hissed. "Not here. We'll talk about that later when that leader isn't sitting two feet away." She turned and looked at Hotch letting out a tight breath when she saw that he was deep in conversation with Morgan and Rossi who'd apparently also joined them.

A loud clanging noise rose behind them and broke both conversations as they all turned to look at the last remaining team member clutching his knee behind two overturned chairs.

"Spence, how many times do we have to tell you? Don't read and walk at the same time. Remember the fountain in Charleston?" JJ asked her eyes twinkling at the memory.

"Vividly." Came Reid's strangled voice. "Sorry, sorry." He told the frazzled waiter coming up next to him to undo the mess he'd made.

Sinking down in the last chair between JJ and Rossi Reid absentmindedly grabbed one of the mugs filling it with hot coffee. Scrunching his forehead together he continued looking down at the file.

"What's bothering you, genius?" Morgan asked as he deftly swiped a piece of Emily's blueberry pancakes.

"How the unsub chooses his victims." Reid explained pouring sugar into his coffee. "Is it opportunity or does he have a thought out plan?"

"Hopefully the victims' families can shed some light on that." Hotch said before starting to hand out the day's assignments. "Morgan and Rossi. I want you to go talk to Denise Carlson's boyfriend. Emily and I'll talk to Mary-Anne Nylund's husband." He let his eyes glide over Emily as he for the second time used her first name rather than her last name. "JJ and Reid you can go back to the station and see if Garcia has found anything. Now let's see if we can't have five more minutes of peace before the day really begins."

* * *

They both sat quiet for the most part of the thirty minute drive to Mary-Anne Nylund's house on the edge of Birka. Only saying a few words about the case. Hotch focused his attention on the road ahead of him and Emily was going over some things in the case one last time.

But she couldn't help but think about how Hotch somehow seemed different. And the atmosphere around them. Or maybe she was just imagining things. But she hadn't imagined him calling her Emily instead of Prentiss. Twice. And she definitely wasn't imagining sitting in this car next to him. He hadn't partnered himself with her in months. He'd hardly looked at her other than when they were discussing a case and now he was calling her Emily and partnering them up for something that would take several hours.

Damn JJ for getting her hopes up.

* * *

The small house that they drove up next to was neat and pretty. It was painted a soft warm yellow and had white window shutters. The stoned path leading up to the white door was lined with not yet blooming rose bushes. It looked innocent. Like the people living there weren't experiencing the worst time of their lives.

Hotch placed a firm knock on the front door and after a few short moments they could hear slow shuffling steps coming closer behind the door. The lock turned and the door opened revealing a tall blonde man wearing sweats and dark circles under his eyes. Emily realized that he probably hadn't slept in days.

"Mr. Nylund." Hotch said showing him his credentials. "I'm Agent Hotchner. This is Agent Prentiss. We're with the FBI. We'd like to ask you a few questions."

Roger Nylund let out a deep emotion filled breath. He had known that they were coming. Someone from the local police had called ahead but still it was absolutely exhausting thinking about having to have someone in his home. Someone asking questions about his wife and their life. He didn't know if he could handle it without falling to pieces. But whatever could be done to bring his wife back had to be done. He opened the door wide.

"Come on in." He told the two agents letting his eyes rest on the dark haired woman. A cold breeze blew through his heart as he noticed the likeness between her and his wife.

He gestured at the sofa in the small sitting room in a wordless way of offering them a seat.

Emily sat down first followed by Mr. Nylund and finally Hotch took his seat next to Emily. They had decided that Emily would be the one to start off the questions. Thinking that her softer approach would be helpful.

"Mr Nylund." Emily began giving the man a small comforting smile. "We can't possibly begin to understand what you're going through and we know that this is very difficult for you to talk about. But any information that you can give could help us find Mary-Anne."

Roger didn't answer. He just took another deep breath. Emily took his silence as permission to start asking the questions.

"Mary-Anne was taken after a cooking class?" Emily started looking at Roger who gave a slight nod of the head. "Was that something she regularly attended?"

"Yes." Roger answered looking down at his hands folded in his lap. "She's been doing it every Friday night for the last three months. She says that cooking relaxes her."

Emily gave Roger a warm smile. "Mr. Nylund, is there _anyone_ you could think of who could have done this to your wife?"

"No... No, not at all. Everyone loves Mary." Roger answered looking confused. "Why would anyone want to hurt her?"

"At this point we're considering all possibilities." Hotch answered. "Was there anything out of the ordinary that happened the days before she was taken?" He continued.

"No... I don't know. What do you mean?" Roger asked looking at Emily and Hotch with tired bleary eyes.

"Did you see anyone or anything outside your house that's not normally there? Or did Mary-Anne say that something had happened? Maybe something felt off?"

"No..." Roger got a distant look in his eyes. "No, wait. She did say something. I just didn't think that much of it. You know she's always fretting about the smallest thing. Like checking to see that the stove is off three times or thinking she forgot to lock the front door. I always tease her. Say she's paranoid. And this time she wasn't being paranoid, was she? And I just shrugged it off." He buried his face in his hands.

Emily placed a small hand on his large forearm. "What did she say, Roger?" She asked gently.

"She said that she'd seen a strange car following her a few times. And I didn't do anything about it. That's who's got her, isn't it?" He fixed his gaze on Emily a single tear running down his cheek stopping abruptly in his coarse beard.

"Did she say anything else. Did she see who was driving or did she say what kind of car it was?" Hotch asked taking on the harder role.

"Ehm..." Roger began furrowing his brow in thought. "Silver. A silver SUV. At least I think she said it was a silver SUV. That's one of the reasons I shrugged it off. A lot of people here drive silver SUV:s."

"Thank you, Mr Nylund." Hotch said getting up from his seat next to Emily. "This has been very helpful."

"Will you be able to find her?" Roger asked in a small voice.

"We will do our very best." Emily promised before they made their way out onto the porch leaving Roger in the sitting room.

As they walked towards the car Hotch was already dialing Morgan.

"Now we at least know that the attacks aren't based on opportunity." Emily said walking next to Hotch.

"No." Hotch nodded. "He chooses them carefully. He's stalking them."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks so much! Please let me know what you think. I love hearing from you all!**

**And hopefully I'll be seeing you in The Smut Club!**

**Also please do remember to call and e-mail CBS! If you're from outside the US (like me) you can use Skype to call – it doesn't cost so much that way! And join in on the lipstick and manila folders campaigns!**

**/ Sussi**


	8. Private Moments

**Dark Eyes**

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you're still enjoying it!**

* * *

**Chapter eight – Private moments **

The soft sun was beaming down on Morgan making his bald head shine as he made his way towards the car they'd parked outside the small house where Denise Carlson lived with her boyfriend and children. Opening the door to the passenger side of the SUV, he'd let the old man drive, he felt his jeans pocket buzz and fished out his cell phone.

"Hey, Hotch." He said as he slid onto the dark leather seat. "Hold on. I'll put you on speaker so that you'll have both me and Rossi."

"We might have something." Came Hotch's dark voice. "Mary-Anne Nylund's husband told us that she'd seen a silver SUV that she didn't recognize outside her workplace and following her on more than one occasion. Emily and I think this means that the unsub's stalking them."

"Yeah." Morgan agreed. "We've come to the same conclusion. Denise's boyfriend told us that she's seen an unfamiliar SUV outside her school a few times. He also said that this, the stalking, has happened to her once before. Apparently one of the former students at her high school became a bit too attached to her. There was no evidence however so that case was dropped."

Morgan momentarily flashed back to Denise's boyfriend James' face when he'd told them about the last time his girlfriend had had an unwanted admirer. It had been pure agony. His expression had clashed horribly with the happy feeling the brightly colorful room, they'd been sitting in, gave.

But along with the pain also blind determination had lingered on the man's face. He'd been convinced that this was the same guy. Unfortunately Morgan wasn't as sure.

"Do you think that there could be a connection?" Hotch asked.

"There might." Rossi answered while skillfully directing the large car down a narrow street. "But it's a bit of a stretch. We still haven't found anything that directly links these four women together other than where they shop."

"Do you have a name?" Hotch asked.

"Yeah, it's John Heart." Morgan answered.

"Have Garcia do a background check and cross check with the places around the dump sites. We're fifteen minutes from the station, we'll meet you both there." Hotch clicked off and the dial tone sounded from Morgan's cell.

"Does he seem a little more intense than usual today to you?" Morgan asked raising an eyebrow at Rossi.

But all he got from Rossi was a muffled "Mmhm." The older agent pretended to be occupied with taking a tight corner with the SUV but really he just didn't know how much he could say to Morgan without him starting to realize that it wasn't just the case that was grating on Hotch.

* * *

"I'm just going to pop across the street and get us some coffee that's actually drinkable." Emily told the team as they were standing around the table in the conference room.

"I'll come with and help you carry." Hotch said hoping that his eagerness wasn't too obvious. "Two pairs of hands are better than one, right?" He gave her a subtle dimple.

As she walked next to Hotch across the cobblestone street to get to the tiny Italian coffee shop facing the police station Emily felt a warmth bubbling inside her. Again she somehow felt that the atmosphere between her and Hotch had changed. Hotch seemed more relaxed and at the same time more nervous around her.

Feeling Hotch bump against her bare arm, she'd left her suit jacket at the station in the warm weather, drew her back to reality.

"Ehm, Emily..." Hotch tentatively began. "I've been meaning to ask you something for a while now." He inhaled. "Are you okay? After the Schrader case and the accident, I mean."

Emily looked at Hotch with an eyebrow raised in surprise. "I'm fine, Hotch." She told him then pausing a second. "That case was four months ago." She gave him a weak smile.

Hotch noticed her surprised tone and kicked himself hard for waiting this long before asking. Why did he wait _four months _to ask her if she was alright after having been in a horrible car accident. He sighed. He knew why. He'd been afraid to ask the slightest personal question fearing that in doing so he wouldn't be able to _not_ let her in. And he hadn't been ready.

But that didn't change the fact that he felt like a first class jerk at the moment. Why had he even asked her that now at all. He could have chosen millions of better topics to talk about.

"Sorry, I meant to ask you a lot sooner." He told her.

Emily saw how Hotch's shoulders slumped a little at her response and silently told herself off for sounding so snappy. She quickly added. "I know. You had other things on your mind. Thank you for asking now. It's nice of you to be concerned."

"Of course I'm concerned." Hotch answered almost inaudibly before stepping through the pale green door and into the tiny coffee shop.

They placed their order of six large extra shot lattes and waited in silence as the girl behind the counter hurried their order. Having intimidating Hotch with you on a coffee run almost always got you your order faster.

Grabbing a cardboard tray with four of the paper mugs in one hand Hotch opened the door with the other and let Emily out into the sun. He walked half a step behind her contemplating whether he should try talking again. Not that it had gone all that well the first time around.

"Emily, I've been..." He began but before he could finish the sentence he saw how Emily swayed a little and lurched forward to grab her before she went down.

"Crap!" Emily exclaimed as she looked at her and Reid's lattes splattered all over the cobble stones. Then she felt an unfamiliar heat spreading through her body from her waist and realized that she had Hotch's arm around her and her voice failed her.

As she turned around her eyes met Hotch's and their gazes locked for only a few seconds but to her it felt like hours.

"Ehrm..." Hotch moved his hand and broke the silence. "What happened?" He glanced at the puddles of coffee on the street.

"The damned the cobblestones. My heel got stuck." She sighed trying to wiggle her foot loose. "Great, I really _am_ stuck."

"Here, let me see if I can help." Hotch told her and sat the tray of paper mugs he was holding down on the ground. Then he knelt beside her and gently grabbed her ankle carefully trying to pry the heel loose.

"Hmm. Maybe it's better if you take the boot off." Hotch suggested after his prying and wriggling hadn't done the trick. "Just lean on me so you don't fall over. Let's try to avoid any bloodshed. It would suck if you fell and cracked your skull open." He looked up at her his dark eyes twinkling.

"Yes, skull cracking and bloodshed would suck." Emily laughed. Her mind was spinning. Was she really interpreting this situation right? Of course Hotch was the perfect southern gentleman and would never leave a woman stuck between cobblestones. But helping with the coffee run and making small jokes. It almost seemed as if he was flirting, not in an overly obvious way, but still she felt as though there was some flirting going on. Or maybe he was just being friendly.

He gently eased her foot out of her boot and while Emily hopped on one foot clutching his shoulder he finally managed to release the trapped heel. He turned and went for her bare foot again but stopped when he noticed that there was a bench just a few feet away. He'd had his hands on her long enough. He wanted her to think of him as more than just her boss and friend. Not think of him as being handsy.

"Here, I'll help you over to that bench." He told Emily as he got off the ground. "Just grab a hold of my arm."

"Thanks." Emily smiled a warm smile at Hotch and hung on to his proffered arm as they a little awkwardly made their way the few feet to the bench, her hopping on one foot and him holding on to her hard to make sure she didn't go south.

All the while Emily tried hard to suppress the bubbly feeling wanting to make an appearance all across her face as she felt Hotch's strong muscles through the fabric of his suit jacket.

Sitting down she quickly pulled her boot back on as Hotch stayed standing looking out over the small street.

"I guess I should go and get two new coffees." She told Hotch as she got off the bench. "I don't want Reid to throw a hissy fit. And if he doesn't get his large coffee with five sugars, he will."

"Okay." Hotch answered. "I'll go back to the station. You'll be okay on your own, right? You won't get stuck again?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"No, I'll be extra careful." Emily answered. "But why they have cobblestone streets I can't understand. I mean come on, move into the 21st century already." She exclaimed in an overly dramatic way starting to walk back to the coffee shop as Hotch looked on.

* * *

"What are they doing?" Reid asked JJ as they both stared out the window at the unusual show on display outside. Reid had been waiting anxiously for his midday caffeine fix and when Hotch and Emily hadn't shown up ten minutes after they'd left he had gone to the window to search for them.

"I have no idea." JJ answered looking at Hotch who was kneeling in front of Emily. If she didn't know better she'd think he was feeling her up in some weird way. Or proposing. But she did know better.

Then she could see how Hotch eased Emily's foot out of her boot while Emily clung to his shoulder. Emily had obviously had one of her clutzy moments and gotten her heel stuck between the cobblestones. That made a lot more sense than thinking that Hotch was feeling her up. Or proposing. Although if JJ got her way he'd be doing that some day. Both things.

Even though they were quite far from the station JJ could tell how gentle Hotch was when he let his fingers trail over Emily's foot. She could also she the spark in Emily's eyes as she looked down on their unit chief.

"Well, as long as they show up with my coffee within the next five minutes I really don't care what they're doing." Reid stated and stalked off to join Morgan and Rossi.

JJ continued looking out the window. She saw Hotch get off the ground and help Emily over to a bench. Emily sat down but Hotch stayed standing. She could see how he was trying to not look at Emily but was failing miserably.

She almost felt as if she was witnessing an extremely private moment. As if this was the moment that the dynamics between her two friends changed. She wondered if they realized that too. Maybe things between them were finally starting to evolve. JJ smiled.

* * *

The cold metal bars dug painfully into her back as she was roughly pushed against them. The thin fabric of the clothes he had put her in did nothing to soften the blow. Her body was already covered in bruises. This would just be another to add to the growing collection.

She wanted to fight back. She hadn't given up yet. He'd nearly broken her body, the lack of food and the cold surroundings taking its toll, but he had yet to break her mind. She staggered to her feet. He pushed her against the bars again. This time her kidneys took the blow and her stomach lurched.

He left her there on the cold hard floor. She knew he'd come back. Maybe in an hour. Maybe in a day. She'd seen the way he looked at her. With those eyes. She knew what would inevitably be coming. She'd seen him do it to the woman before her. And there would be no way of stopping him. She didn't have the strength.

Facing away from the steel door she buried her face in her palms. If he came back she didn't want him to see her tears. They were tears of pain, not of defeat, but she still hid them from him. He hadn't won yet. Hard steps sounded behind her. He'd only been gone ten minutes this time.

An unforgiving hand closed on her arm and pulled her around. Facing him. She heard quiet sobbing in the background and as her eyes flicked to his other hand she saw something gleaming. He shook her and dragged her attention back to his face. She saw those eyes again. Before everything went black that was the last thing she saw. Those dark eyes.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading guys! Please let me know what you think! **

**Okay, so I guess you've heard the news by now... No more AJ, just two episodes to wrap up her storyline... that's a bit insulting, wrapping up five years in 2 episodes...**

**and then Paget will be gone for 5-6 episodes... I wonder how they'll go about doing that... I really really really hope they don't take her off the team and just have her show up in the bull pen every now and then...**

**/ Sussi**

**PS. There are some prompts up at the Smut Club – so come on over and get some smutty inspiration!**


	9. Controversy

**Dark Eyes**

**A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter nine - Controversy**

With two large steaming coffees in hand Emily walked through the open door into the conference room where the rest of the team was waiting for her. Some of them more eagerly than others. The second she came through the door Reid hurried towards her his lanky legs almost twirling together as he made a dash for his much awaited caffeine.

"What took you so long?" He asked as he grabbed the paper mug Emily was holding out flinching a little when his skin hit the heat.

"My heel got stuck between the cobblestones and I dropped the coffees so I had to go get new ones." She shrugged. "Sorry for the wait." She said giving Reid an apologetic smile.

"Oh, no worries." Reid smiled back. "_Ah_, so _that's_ what you and Hotch were doing."

Emily gave him a surprised look. "Yeah. Were you watching us? He helped me with my boot." She raised an eyebrow. "What did you think we were doing?"

"Nothing." Reid answered looking completely genuine and like he didn't really understand her question then taking a long sip from his paper mug.

"Who did what?" Morgan asked coming up behind Reid and Emily.

"Uh, Hotch helped Emily when her shoe got stuck between the cobblestones." Reid answered.

"Well well well, wasn't that mighty chivalrous of him." Morgan chuckled. "Our fearless leader helping a damsel in distress." He sniggered showing Emily a row of perfectly white teeth.

Emily opened her mouth with the clear intention of shooting a profanity at Morgan but was stopped by Hotch's deep voice gathering the troops.

"Alright guys." He said. "JJ could you go and tell the Detective that we are ready to give a rough profile."

"I'm on my way." JJ answered and left the room in search of Detective Granger.

* * *

Officer Mike Newton was sitting in the front of the room intently watching the six FBI agents getting a whiteboard ready. He'd been told they were going to present a rough profile of the unsub, as they called him. Next to him was his much older colleague Officer Earl Elder who was silently huffing to himself and rolling his eyes.

Officer Newton had been listening to the talk around the water cooler. He knew that some of the other officers, mainly the older ones, weren't all that excited about the FBI's presence. They thought that they were "fancy FBI agents with their suits and their strange words that were coming in and taking over". Those were the same officers that had had a problem with Sally being promoted. They weren't an all that progressive bunch. Newton usually stayed well away from them.

"Can I have your attention, please." Agent Jareau, the sweet tiny blonde, started. "SSA Hotchner and the team will give you a profile of the unsub shortly. Please remember that this is only a rough profile and should not be released to the media yet."

"Thank you." The tall and thoroughly frightening Agent Hotchner began. Without adding any further formalities he began delivering the profile with steadfast determination. "We believe that this unsub is killing these women because they remind him of someone close to him. Maybe his wife or his mother. He believes himself as being wronged in some way by this woman and takes it out on substitutes because he can't approach the real source of his anxiety. He is most likely the submissive one in the relationship and beats these women violently to death to gain control."

Agent Hotchner took a step back and in his place stepped Agent Morgan. Newton had talked to him the day before and he liked him. He was a no nonsense tell it like it is kind of guy and Newton liked that in a person.

"The unsub held his first two victims for around a month before killing them. Why he did that we do not know yet or if he will hold his current victims for as long." Agent Morgan began.

"So you _don't_ know everything." Officer Elder smugly stage whispered next to Newton. A comment that Newton was glad to notice Agent Morgan disregarded and continued as if nothing had happened.

"But this _does_ tell us that he has time to spend with the victims. That could mean that he is unemployed or self employed." Morgan continued. "Both victims have shown signs of starvation. We believe that the unsub is starving them to easier gain control over them." Morgan continued looking at the officers. "These are fit women. If the unsub needs to weaken them then that probably means that he's neither a big nor strong guy. He's probably at most 5'9."

"Both victims has been found in the same part of town." Agent Prentiss took over the presentation. "Work under the assumption that this is where the unsub either lives or works. The four victims have a lot of the places around the dump sites in common. That is not a coincidence. Please be vigilant to anything happening in that area."

Newton noticed how several of the other officers had sat up just a little bit straighter when the obviously very beautiful Agent Prentiss took center stage. And he really couldn't blame them. She was a very lovely lady. And what was sexier than a woman with a gun?

"Finally we expect the unsub to be a Caucasian male in the ages between thirty five and forty five. And who drives a light colored SUV, most likely silver. Be sure to report any suspicious sightings of such a vehicle." Agent Prentiss finished and made room for Agent Hotchner.

"Again we would like to stress the importance of not taking this profile to the press." Agent Hotchner took over once again. "It is very important that our involvement is kept as quiet as possible. We need the unsub to believe that he is getting away with this or he might be driven to kill both his current victims. Thank you." Hotchner finished and started making his way towards the conference room following the rest of his team.

"Agent Hotchner!" Officer Elder quickly rose from his seat and chased after Hotch who stopped and turned around.

"Why aren't you releasing this information to the public?" He gave Hotch an angry frown. "Shouldn't we warm potential victims?" Elder asked looking up at Hotch. Had the circumstances been different it would have been a funny sight. The angry Officer Elder trying his hardest to be on eye level with the at least five inches taller Hotch.

"Officer...?" Hotch looked questioningly at the short balding man.

"Elder."

"Officer Elder, I assure you that this is the best way of keeping Mary-Anne Nylund and Denise Carlson alive. It is highly unlikely that the unsub will take another victim at this moment in time." There was a clear finality in Hotch's polite voice that Officer Elder ignored.

"But you _don't_ know that!" He exclaimed throwing his hands out at Hotch who took a step back. "This is all just an educated guess. If even that."

Daggers shot from Hotch's eyes as he fixed them on Officer Elder. "Officer." He said glaring at the other man his steady voice not conveying the same heat as his eyes. "We are good at what we do. Trust us when we say that releasing this information could cause the unsub to kill one or both of his captives."

Officer Elder replied by snorting arrogantly. "Excuse me, Agent Hotchner..." He said looking as if he had tasted something vile when saying Hotch's name. "I might be an idealist but I always believe that it is for the best to protect the public..."

"With all due respect, sir." Hotch cut him off. "That is what we are trying to do here. The level of rage that this unsub is displaying points to a very unstable personality. Telling him that the police and the FBI are after him could very well push him to kill both women and go on a spree." With that Hotch turned and started walking away. "Now if you excuse me I have work to do."

Elder watched Hotch leave with an incredulous look in his eyes before stalking away muttering something about FBI big wigs who thought they were all high and mighty.

* * *

Sitting by herself at the table in the conference room Emily startled when Hotch stormed through the door his dark eyes gleaming.

"What happened, Hotch?" Emily asked looking at him with concerned eyes. Pissed off Hotch was something you very rarely saw. Kind of like a shooting star. Except the only thing you could wish for was that it wasn't you who'd caused his anger.

Sinking down onto the chair next to her Hotch let out a deep sigh and looked at Emily. Her warm eyes met his and he felt a tiny bit of the world lift off of his shoulders. Like always he instantly felt a little bit better when she was around.

"Oh, some of the local officers aren't too pleased with our way of doing things." He gave her a tight smile. "Hopefully there won't be anymore controversy, but I just got the feeling that this one guy won't back down all that easily." He scrubbed a hand over his forehead. This case was exhausting enough without having to worry about riled up locals.

"If he does do something then we'll handle it." Emily told him giving him a reassuring smile. "It's not like we haven't had to deal with crazy locals before."

"No, you're right." Hotch said looking up at her. "We've dealt with situations like this before. It just never stops being frustrating when some of the local officers just don't understand that we're here to help."

"Yeah, it is. But maybe he just needed to get it off his chest." Emily agreed before asking. "Who was it?"

"Officer Elder." Hotch answered.

"Oh, the short one." Emily nodded. "Well if he gives you any more trouble." She gave him a bright almost a little devilish smile. "I'm pretty sure I can take him." She chuckled.

That comment made Hotch break out both dimples and give a little chuckle. "That's good to know, Emily." He gave her another smile. "You always seem to know just what to say to lighten my mood."

That last part he hadn't intended on saying. It just sort of slipped out. He usually didn't hand out such compliments. Always keeping a safe professional distance. But it was true that she always knew just what to say to make him smile, even if that smile usually was an inward smile. And he wanted her to know that. And the warm smile she was giving him back made him hope that she was glad to know that little fact about him.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks! Please review!**

**Sussi**

**PS. I know... me ← broken record... but... do join our fun over at the Smut Club! You won't regret it...**


	10. Whatever you do, don't poke the bear

**Dark Eyes**

**A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing! Love you lots my delicious crime fighters!**

* * *

**Chapter ten – Whatever you do, **_**don't poke the bear**_

Splashing some icy cold water on her face Emily took a deep breath. She needed the revitalizing kick the chill gave her. It had been a long day and it wasn't over yet. Her stomach rumbled. She'd been going on coffee and a few bananas the last seven or eight hours. There just hadn't been time to eat something proper.

After delivering the profile earlier in the day she and Hotch had gone to visit Kelly White's mother while Rossi and Morgan had gone to Linda Sheldon's husband. At the same time Reid had continued working on the geographical profile tying all the different places together trying to see a pattern. Poor JJ had drawn the proverbial short straw and had been stuck dealing with the pissed off older officers who thought that doing it their way was the only reasonable thing to do. All in all it had been a truly exhausting day.

Emily was just leaving the ladies room, that was hidden away in the back but was just as bright and breezy as the rest of the station, when her cell phone started vibrating in her pocket. Checking the display before answering Emily greeted the tech goddess with a bright smile.

"PG, what's up?"

"Oooh, Chica!" Garcia happily exclaimed. "I think the real question is what is up with you and our hunky leader?" She trilled from the other end of the line.

"What do you mean? Nothing's going on between Hotch and I." Emily answered semi-truthfully. Actually, she wasn't really that sure anymore.

"That's not what I heard." Garcia sing songed back. "A little blonde birdie whispered in my ear that you two had a lovely little private moment earlier today."

"He helped me get out of my shoe that had got stuck..." Emily began but Garcia cut her off.

"Oh, you know what they say." She sniggered. "First it's your shoe next thing you know he's helping you out of your underwear."

"Garcia! I've told you this a hundred times. Nothing's ever going to happen between me and Hotch." _At least that was what I used to think_ was the part she didn't say out loud.

"But you'd be perfect together." Garcia huffily complained. "You're both dark, seriously intense super agents. You should _so_ get together." Though not visible the pout on Garcia's lips was heard loud and clear.

Knowing that the conversation would go on forever and that Garcia definitely would be able to drag more than she wanted out of her Emily skillfully made a change of subject.

"Did you call just to try and wrangle gossip out of me or did you have another reason as well?" She asked Garcia.

"Actually I did have another reason for calling." Garcia said with her bright smile shining through her voice. "The gossip wrangling I threw in for free. If you could be so kind as to gather the rest of the delicious crime fighters I'll give you all my status report."

"You got it, PG. You just show your sexy face on that screen and I'll have the team there." Emily smiled back glad that Garcia had dropped the whole Hotch thing. For now at least.

As she flipped her cell shut Emily rounded the last corner and slipped into the conference room joining the rest of the team.

"Is the laptop Garcia ready?" She asked.

"Yeah it's all ready to go." Morgan answered before the screen lit up with Garcia's smiling face.

"There you all are, my lovely little tree elves!" She wiggled a pink fuzzy pen at them. "And hello again to you Miss Prentiss. Have you given what I said any more thought yet?"

The other five looked quizzically at Emily who just shot Garcia a small glare while keeping perfectly quiet.

"I'll take that as a no then." Garcia smiled back ignoring the look Emily gave her. "Alright, let's get down to business ladies and gents."

"Did you find anything on that name Morgan gave you?" Hotch asked leaning forward on his knuckles against the table.

"I did." Garcia answered and an expecting silence filled the room. "John Heart. Twenty five years old and with a bit of a slimy past. Petty larceny, minor assault, indecent exposure. He's a scum bag alright. Just not _our_ scum bag. He's currently doing time for rape as well as attempted rape. His second victim bit him in the ear before he could get his you know what out. You go girl! He's been locked up for the last six months."

"Alright." Hotch answered looking around at the disappointed faces of his team. "We knew he'd likely be a dead end. This doesn't change anything."

"No, but this does." JJ said as she hurried through the door. "Hotch, look at this." She turned on the tiny TV that had been placed in the room for their convenience. In the middle of the screen was a tall blonde woman standing outside the sushi restaurant where the second victim had been found. She was holding on to a large gray microphone that she was talking fast into.

"Sources within the police have confirmed that this is where the second victim of the Birka serial killer was found. Yesterday the FBI was brought in after two new women were taken and they have confirmed that it was committed by the same man. Women in their mid to late thirties should be extra vigilant and and keep an eye out for a Caucasian male, thirty-five to forty-five driving a silver SUV." She gave the camera a dazzling but serious smile. "Back to you, Steve."

No one said anything. The room flowed over with an awkward silence. They all knew how bad this was. If the unsub was checking the news, and odds were that he was, then this could tip him over the edge.

"JJ!" Hotch snapped but quickly calmed himself down again. This was not the liaison's fault. "Have you got _any_ idea who could have leaked this?" He asked. "We've stressed the importance of keeping this quiet."

"I don't know _exactly_ who it was." JJ answered. "But take your pick of the older officers. I'm sure it was one of them. Or all." She frowned. "They've all been very vocal about their problems with our way of working."

"Where's the detective?" Hotch asked looking through the door. His voice was tight and his eyes flaring.

Spotting Detective Granger standing by herself out in the station's bullpen Hotch quickly made his way out of the conference room with long fierce strides. Rossi followed a few feet behind, he was generally considered the one with the best ability to calm pissed off Hotch down. The rest of the team stayed behind in the conference room not wanting get in the line of fire.

"Detective!" Hotch caught Detective Granger's eye.

"I know, Agent Hotchner. I saw the news." She said with a sigh before Hotch had a chance to say anything.

"Do you know who the leak is?" He asked his eyes burning. "Did your men not understand how extremely important it was to keep this quiet?"

"Well, Agent Hotchner." Detective Granger said. "Unfortunately you've just stumbled upon one of the biggest problems we have around here." She gave him a weak smile. "There's a bit of a difference of opinion between some of the officers. Most are happy to follow orders. Some however are not quiet as fond of that concept."

"I see." Hotch answered her easing his tone a little. "But if you do find out anything about who could have gone to the media then please let me know." Hotch told her. Then the sound of someone clearing his throat sounded behind them making them both turn around.

"No need going around pointing fingers at innocent, Agent Hotchner." Officer Elder told them. "I am man enough to own up to something I did. Especially when it was the right thing to do. I am sorry though that you don't see it that way." He gave them both a righteous smile.

Hotch had always preached the importance of not stepping on any local toes. But right at that moment he wanted to do more than that. He wanted to break a local nose. But he reined himself in letting the smug tone of the officer's voice slide.

"Officer Elder." He said as calmly as he possibly could in the situation. "I thought I made myself rather clear before. Tell me what part of 'don't go to the media it might cause our killer to snap' did you not understand?"

"Oh, I understood alright." Elder huffed. "You don't want anyone to know that you're here so that _when_ you screw up you can just slip away back to your fancy FBI offices unnoticed."

"I can assure you, Officer. That is not our intention." Hotch kept the words polite and controlled but they came out in a dark snarl. "We are just as determined to find the person killing these women as you are." He said with a little more force taking a step forward closing in on the short officer.

"Oh, I'm sure..." Elder complacently began but fell silent when Hotch took another stride forward.

Apparently the officer could finally sense the silent anger radiating from Hotch and took a small step back. But Hotch followed taking a few more steps almost pinning the officer against a wall. His dark eyes fixed on the man in front of him he let out a low growl. "What you did can prove to be very damaging to this investigation and I am holding you partly responsible if the unsub kills again."

Rossi who'd been watching from a few feet away saw this as his moment to step in. He knew that Hotch was the undisputed master of self control but even the sun has its spots and Rossi did not feel like scraping locals off the floor.

Placing a hand on Hotch's shoulder he wordlessly pulled the younger man off of his prey and led him out of the station. In the background he could hear Detective Granger scolding Officer Elder. He liked Detective Granger. He had no doubts whatsoever that she wouldn't be able to put that ass in his place.

Rossi led Hotch over to a bench outside the station, the same one Emily had been sitting on several hours earlier.

"You don't have to say anything, Dave." Hotch said sinking down onto the bench. "I'm aware that I was out of line."

"Aaron, don't worry. That was nothing." Rossi patted him on the shoulder. "If it had been me I'd have decked him." He gave Hotch a smile. "But I know you and if you'd have done something like that you would have ultimately felt guilty and embarrassed and I thought I'd spare you that."

"Thanks Dave." Hotch answered starting to get up off the bench but Rossi stayed seated so he stopped and sank back down.

"You've been acting a little more intense lately, Hotch." Rossi told him letting his eyes wander over the crowded street.

"It's a tough case, Dave." Hotch answered and Rossi let it go. He guessed it was something more than just the case, that granted was a tough one but they'd had worse. But he'd already given Hotch his view on that situation and he didn't believe in nagging. All three of his ex-wives had been champions at it and that had put him off that particular method of getting a point through.

"I've just got a bad feeling about this." Hotch finally said after a few moments of silence and got off the bench.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks so much for reading. If you have any comments or questions don't hesitate to let me know! I've had a bit of a drop in reviews and I just hope that you're still enjoying it...**

**Sussi**


	11. What comes out in the dark

**Dark Eyes**

**A/N: Thanks for reading and for all the lovely reviews! You deserve a freaking award you're so awesome!**

* * *

**Chapter eleven – What comes out in the dark.**

Reid let his head fall heavily back onto the soft white pillow his wild hair splaying all over the place. He looked at the clock. It was passed midnight but he was nowhere near sleep. The ample amount of coffee he'd consumed during the last fourteen or so hours prevented that. But it was okay. He didn't really need all that much sleep. He'd learned to cope with a mind that never really slowed down. He could use the time to let it run over all of the details of the case again.

He filled his mind with the multicolored map he'd constructed during the day. He saw it as clear as day in front of his eyes. Red was for dump site. Blue for where the victims lived and worked. Green was for all the places the four victims had in common. At the moment his map was a complete mish-mash of colors. Green lines were everywhere together with red and blue.

He tried twisting it around ignoring all green lines except for the ones within a certain radius of the two dump sites. But he knew that was a risky move to make. None of the victims lived close to that area and only one of them worked there. He'd understood from what the Detective had told him that that part of town was swamped with women who found high end shopping exhilarating. And apparently Birka had quite a few women like that.

He hated letting his mind admit it but the truth was he kind of needed one more dump site. That way he could triangulate the dump sites and consequently he could scratch a lot of possible places where the unsub might live or work. He did however have an inkling as to a smaller area in the center of the town where that might be. Between the two dump sites were around ten of the places all four victims went to frequently and there was also the street that Mary-Anne Nylund used to get to and from work and the company where Kelly White had worked.

But Reid always wanted to make sure that he had enough to stand on before letting anyone else in on his thoughts. It was difficult sometimes to be the one that everyone expected to get the most brilliant answers from.

If he was wrong about his suspicions then he could lead them all down the wrong path and waste precious time. He let his mind wander across the map one more time.

* * *

Emily checked her wristwatch. It was passed midnight. She scooped another dollop of cookie dough ice cream into her mouth. "Don't you just love a hotel where you can order room service ice cream at 11.30 at night?" She smiled at JJ.

"It should definitely be a prerequisite for all hotels the Bureau books for us from now on." JJ smiled back and popped some of her mint-chocolate ice cream into her mouth. Then she couldn't help adding. "I'm sure you could order some chocolate sauce and whipped cream too." She gave Emily a happy look. "If you ever feel the need."

"About that." Emily said looking at JJ with perfectly arched eyebrows. "Apparently a little blonde birdie told Garcia that Hotch and I had a private moment earlier today. You don't happen to know anything about that, do you?"

"In my defense." JJ started. "You are as stubborn as a freaking donkey and I need all the help I can get convincing you that you and Hotch belong together." She smiled putting her brimming spoon back into her mouth.

"First of all..." Emily said giving JJ a small glare. "I am _not_ as stubborn as a donkey and second of all I might already have reconsidered my position on that issue."

She couldn't help but smile when she thought back to her day with Hotch. They had spent most of the day together, he'd partnered them up for two interviews and then there was that coffee run and then when they'd been alone together in the conference room a few minutes. He'd told her that she always knew how to lighten his mood. That comment had just warmed her heart. If there was anything that she wanted to do for Hotch it was to make him smile. He didn't let those cute dimples out to play nearly enough.

"Really?" JJ asked pulling Emily from her inner recounting of the day. "What changed your mind?"

"Hotch did." Emily answered.

"What! Did he say something? Did he do something?" JJ asked almost bouncing in her seat.

"No. Yes. No, not really." Emily began. "It wasn't really what he said or did. It was just his way of being around me today. He just didn't feel as distant as he has in the last few months. But I don't know..." She said starting to feel the doubt rising again. "It might just be that he's being friendly."

"No, Em, honey. It's not. He wants you."

"Maybe I'll just ask him out when this case is over then." She said raising an eyebrow at JJ and waited for the liaison's squeal. But it didn't come. JJ sat staring out the window with a distant look in her eyes.

"Hey, Jayje. What's wrong?" Emily asked patting her friend's hand.

"Was it my fault?" JJ quietly asked. "Should I have been firmer when dealing with the local officers? Should I have told Hotch that some of the older officers where really mad at the decision not to inform the public?"

"Of course not, JJ." Emily reassured her. "Hotch already knew that Elder and his friends were riled up. None of us actually thought he'd disobey a direct order. This is no one's fault but that idiot Elder's."

"What do you think the unsub will do now?" JJ asked.

"I don't know, Jayje." Emily answered. "We'll just have to cross our fingers and hope that nothing bad will happen."

* * *

Hotch paced another length of the carpeted hotel room floor. He picked up his cell and checked the display. It was passed midnight. He knew it would be at least another hour before he'd get tired enough to fall asleep. He also knew that he wasn't the only one still awake. He'd heard Emily and JJ's laughter through the thin wall between the two rooms. Anything else, their conversation, he hadn't been able to hear. Not that he had tried, he wasn't nosy and he didn't care for gossip. But in the back of his mind a tiny voice kept wondering if maybe they were talking about him.

But he had to turn a deaf ear to that voice at the moment. He couldn't get swept away in thinking about a possible future with Emily when there were two women who were at risk of not having a future to think about.

He checked off the details of the profile in his head again. The unsub was organized but in desperate need of being in control over his victims. So that he could somehow regain whatever it was that he thought a woman in his life had taken from him. He probably felt emasculated for some reason. And innocent women were paying the price.

He let out a long sigh and sank into one of the plushy armchairs. He perked his ears for a second. He couldn't hear Emily and JJ's laughter anymore. Maybe they'd called it a night or maybe they were just talking more quietly. He let that thought go again and returned to the unsub. It was just so frustrating. They didn't have any more leads. He felt the pressure of being the leader weighing on his shoulders. He was in charge. He couldn't falter. But he just didn't see this case being solved anytime soon. Not unless the unsub did something that revealed a little bit more about him. It was an unbearable paradox. They needed more information. He was just afraid of the way they would get that information.

Hotch pulled back the covers and climbed between the cool sheets. He shifted a little making himself comfortable. Lying back and closing his eyes he heard the door on the other side of the wall open and close. Then he heard light footsteps padding by his door. He trained his ears listening carefully to the sounds from the other room. The bathroom door closed and he heard the distinct creaking of a bed. Emily was lying in the bed on the other side of the thin wall. There was only a few inches between them. That thought made him both happy and sad at the same time. Happy because that reminded him that in a few months or maybe just weeks there wouldn't be any obstacles between them. Sad because he couldn't have it right away.

* * *

Officer Newton yawned and checked his watch. It was almost dawn. He'd been patrolling the streets round the city center with his partner, Officer Bill Jacobson, the last six hours. They'd walked through their beat but had yet to see anything suspicious.

He'd seen some teenagers leaving an all night coffee shop but there wasn't really anything illegal or dangerous about that. Still he'd told them to head home. He knew that the agents had told them that the unsub was fixated on women with brown eyes in their late thirties and there wasn't really any risk of him taking a group of seventeen-year-olds. But he still felt better knowing that the streets were empty.

"Newt, I'm back." Bill told him as he came out from the diner where he'd had to use the facilities, all that coffee had gone right through him.

They continued down the dusky streets that were normally filled with people strolling around window shopping. Now it was deserted. They chatted about all sorts of things. Bill's twin daughters driving him crazy, the house that Newt's mother was pressuring him to buy and the success of the Vikings. But they still kept both eyes carefully open observing every little thing around them.

Walking by a dark alley Newt let his flashlight illuminate the dark patch of asphalt.

"Bill! A little help here." He called to his partner who also turned the bright light towards the alley. "There! Something's on the ground. Shine the light there." Newton told him as he made his way over to the heap on the ground.

When he got there he fell to his knees and carefully shone his light in front of him. The strong stream of light revealed a dirty white sheet wrapped loosely around something. When he saw the sheet he knew what it was but he still trailed the light along it. First he saw a few strands of raven hair. As the light traveled further down he saw a delicate arm covered in dark bruises. He'd seen enough.

"Bill!" He called out. "Call Sally. And the agents. The bastard has killed another woman."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks a bunch! Please review and make my day! **

**So... a couple of things:**

**The Smut Club is now hosting the very exciting **_**Smut Challenge Summer of 2010**_**! Go on over to the Smut Club and join... You'll never have more fun! ****If you haven't written smut before – no worries! All you need is a bit of a dirty mind...**

**There's also a few new prompts up at the club! Check them out and see if there's anything that tickles your fancy!**

**On a different note... I'm currently working on a new story and I need a girl's name... If you have any suggestions please let me know! I can't decide myself...**

**On a completely different note... I've been watching Twin Peaks reruns and oh my! Young Kyle MacLachlan – yum! I've kinda got a thing for dark fictional FBI agents... who knew!**

**x Sussi**


	12. Another life taken

**Dark Eyes**

**A/N: Thanks a bunch for reading and reviewing! You are indeed awesome! I'm posting today instead of tomorrow because I'm going out of town for the weekend. Next update will be on Wednesday.**

* * *

**Chapter twelve – Another life taken**

_I had to do it. I wanted to do it. I hadn't planned on it happening so soon but it just couldn't wait. I had to make room. There's only room for two whores at a time so I had to get one of them out of the way. _

_So that I can have __**her**__. The one I've been waiting for. _

_I wish I could have kept this last one longer. I never got to experience just how soft she really was. She looked like she could have been fun. So pretty. But she wasn't good enough. No one has been good enough! She was just another whore. Like all the others. A power hungry and career obsessed little bitch._

_But __**she**__ is nothing like the rest of them. She's the one I've been waiting for all this time. She won't look down on me. She'll be a lady. She'll be willing to please me._

_She was so friendly when she talked to me. And she was so beautiful with her long soft hair and her pretty eyes. She gave me a big smile and her eyes twinkled at me. She wouldn't deny me anything. I'm sure of that._

_But now __**they**__ are in town. They are trying to stop me from taking what is rightfully mine. But they won't do it. No one will ever be able to stop me._

* * *

The shrill ringing of his cell phone pulled Hotch from his slumber. He grabbed the offending gadget off the nightstand. Rubbing his eyes he checked the bright display. Five forty-five am. He was getting up in fifteen minutes anyway.

"Hotchner." He answered his voice scratched by sleep.

"Agent Hotchner." He recognized Detective Granger's voice and immediately he knew what the call was about. "This is Detective Granger. I'm sorry to call this early but we have found another body. She was found about an hour ago by two of my men. We think that it's Mary-Anne Nylund but we don't know for sure yet."

Hotch groaned. He couldn't say that he was surprised. He'd just hoped that they would have had a few more days to maybe be able to prevent something like this from happening.

"Thank you for calling, Detective." Hotch answered. "Please text me the address of the dump site and myself and Agent Rossi will be there as soon as possible."

"Of course, Agent Hotchner. Right away" Detective Granger answered before she hung up.

Getting out of the bed and making his way to the bathroom to have a quick wash Hotch punched the numbers to Rossi's cell.

"Aaron, what's up?" Came Rossi's voice after two rings.

"We have another body, Dave." Hotch answered while grabbing his toothbrush. "Meet me in the lobby in fifteen. I'm just going to give Emily a quick briefing before we leave."

"See you in fifteen." Rossi answered and the dial tone sounded.

Hotch quickly brushed his teeth and washed his face. He'd showered the night before so he figured he was clean enough. As he pulled on his charcoal dress slacks he thought for a moment about Mary-Anne's husband. The man had been a wreck. He felt sorry for him for what he was about to go through. Not just in the way you empathize with someone going through a hard time. No, the things that Roger Nylund was about to think and feel he himself had thought and felt just little over five months earlier.

He knocked a couple of times on Emily's door and was about to knock again when he heard her muffled steps on the other side of the door. Then she turned the lock and flung the door open.

"Hotch!" She said with a twinge of surprise. "Sorry, I was in the bathroom. What's up?"

It didn't matter that he was Agent Hotchner, and not Aaron, with important issues to discuss with her. He couldn't help his eyes making their way down her body. She was still in her sleep wear. A dark pink tank and matching shorts. She was barefoot and her hair was still a little sleep rumpled. The caveman part of his brain noticed that she wasn't wearing a bra. At that moment the urge to grab her and lay her down on the bed was greater than ever. He just wanted to close the door behind them and pretend for a while that things like serial killers and dump sites didn't exist. But he couldn't because they did.

He realized that he hadn't said anything and quickly drew his eyes back up to hers.

"They've found another body." He told her.

A small gasp escaped her and she gave him a short nod but didn't say anything.

"I'm going over to the dump site with Dave now." Hotch explained. "I need you to collect the rest of the team and head to the station."

"Okay." She answered.

"See if Garcia has found anything and give Reid a hand with the geographical profile. He needs a bit of a push sometimes." He gave her a tight smile. "And Emily..."

"Yeah?"

"Keep an eye on JJ. I think she blames herself for what happened yesterday. Also we're sure to be swamped in local media today. She's going to need all the support she can get."

"You got it Hotch." Emily answered. "I'll give her all the support I can and if the media, or the local officers, get too close I'll just have Morgan tackle them." She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Sounds like a plan to me." He chuckled and started making his way to the elevators. Before he went through the sliding silver doors he looked back over his shoulder at her door. Still standing in the door frame she gave him a little wave. He smiled back at her and stepped into the elevator.

* * *

The sun had barely come out yet and the air was a lot chillier than it had been the two previous days when Hotch pulled the dark SUV into park on the wide street next to the narrow alley where the body was. Rossi thought the faint light and the chill was an appropriate setting for the current situation. If there ever was such a thing as an appropriate setting for looking at a dead body.

He noticed that the place was already cramped full of officers and technicians and uttered a quiet curse under his breath. He'd always been of the opinion that too many local dummies spoils the crime scene. Seeing Detective Granger standing in the middle of the hubbub they made their way over to her with quick strides.

"Detective Granger." Hotch said as he came up next to her and she turned to face them her green eyes missing their usual spark.

"Agent Hotchner. Agent Rossi" She gave them each a brief nod. "We've confirmed the identity of the victim. We were right. It is Mary-Anne Nylund." She glanced down at the lifeless form on the ground in front of them.

"Has anyone touched the body?" Hotch asked as he knelt down pulling on a pair of blue latex gloves.

"No, we had to pull the sheet back a bit to be able to do a positive ID, but that's it." Detective Granger answered. "We wanted to wait for you and the ME."

"Is he here yet?" Rossi asked looking at all the faces of the people running around.

"No, he has a long drive to get here. But I expect him to show up within the next fifteen or so minutes." She told them before leaving them alone and walking into the crowd in search of two of her officers.

"Dave." Hotch said pulling the sheet a little further down. "Look at this." He indicated three straight dark blueish bruises about two inches wide on the lower back. "What does this look like to you?"

"Well, they don't look like they were caused by bare hands." Rossi said leaning in a little closer. "I'd guess some sort of steel bar or pipe did that."

Hotch nodded. "Yeah, that's my guess too. The COD of the other victims was blunt force trauma to the head, most likely caused by a pipe or a bat." He carefully swept away the hair covering her face revealing a large gash. "And by the looks of it that's what he did to her too. Maybe he hit her with it in other places of her body as well."

"Maybe..." Rossi said leaning even closer.

"You think it's something else?" Hotch asked arching an eyebrow at the other man.

"Yeah, look at the even spacing between the bruises. It almost looks like she's been pushed against something."

"Like the steel bars of a cage." Hotch said looking up at Rossi his brow in deep furrows. "This adds to our suspicion that he's of slight build. If he's keeping them in cages." Hotch continued getting up off the ground.

"If that's the case then I don't think that he's keeping them anywhere in this area." Rossi said looking around at the tall buildings basking in the glow of the sun that was finally showing its face. "These buildings are from what I understand mainly offices, shops and some tiny studio apartments. I don't think you could get away with keeping two women locked up in cages around here. Someone would have noticed."

Hotch nodded crossing his arms over his chest. "Then he must have some place on the outskirts of town. Probably in an industrial neighborhood. In a residential area the risk of someone noticing him is to big."

"You're probably right." Rossi agreed. "There must be an industrial area somewhere. It can't all be fancy shops and restaurants and pink houses."

"I'm going to make a phone call." Hotch told him. "You talk to the ME when he gets here. Tell him that we need his rapport as soon as possible."

* * *

"Prentiss." The sound of her voice tied a tiny knot in the pit of his stomach that he had to will away.

"Emily, it's Hotch. How are things over at the station?" He asked.

"Well..." Emily said and he could hear the smile lingering on her pretty lips. "The coffee is darker than tar. Reid is scribbling like a mad man. I'm actually concerned he might give himself tennis elbow. JJ is fending off the press with both grace and a killer bite. And Morgan has been flexing his pecs at any and all criticizing officers coming within five feet of us so we're all set over here. How 'bout you?"

Despite where he was standing surrounded by nothing but grim seriousness Hotch had to chuckle slightly at Emily's vivid recount of the events at the station.

"Well, no one's been flexing any pecs but it has been fairly informative." He told her. "We think that he is holding them in cages."

"Cages?" Emily gasped.

"Yeah." Hotch answered with a muffled sigh. "We think that he must have some kind of property somewhere on the edge of town. In an industrial quarter maybe."

"Somewhere remote where he can keep them locked up without people finding out." Emily added shuddering a little. She hated the thought of the women not only being held somewhere against their will but being held in cages, like animal.

"When Rossi's done talking to the ME we'll head back to the station. Start looking for possible locations where he could be holding them and tell Garcia to do a cross check between establishments close to the dump sites and industrial property."

"Right away. See you soon, Hotch." Emily told him and clicked off. Then she took a deep breath before she grabbed her cell again and dialed Garcia's number.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks so much! Why not have some fun and leave a review! **

**Also... Just wanted to yet again tell you that we are having the super fun Smut Challenge Summer of 2010 over at The Smut Club! July 18th is the last day to enter so you still have plenty of time to join... but why wait? If you're wondering what/where the club is go to my profile page and click on "My forums"!**

**x Sussi**


	13. Surprises, surprises

Dark Eyes

**A/N: Thanks for reading! To all who have put this story on their alert or as their favorite... Thanks so much! You are indeed people with very good taste :D**

* * *

**Chapter thirteen – Surprises, surprises**

Ending her conversation with Garcia with a friendly "talk to you later, PG." Emily flipped her cell shut and walked up to Reid who was busy filling in orange lines on his map around the place of the latest dump site with great concentration.

"How's it going?" She asked peeking over his shoulder and leaning closer to the map. It really didn't make all that much sense to her. The whole geographical profiling thing had never been her scene.

Having been completely sucked in by his map Reid jumped a little at the sound of Emily's voice. "Pretty good actually." He answered when he'd caught his breath and filled in another line. "I think I can get something from this." He continued his voice becoming increasingly high pitched as his excitement rose. "If I correlate the dump sites with where the victims were taken and the places they visited most frequently I should be able construct the area where the unsub most likely lives or works."

"That's great, Reid!" Emily told him patting his back. "You continue with that and I'll go and get us some coffees and then maybe I can help you with that profile. And we also have to look at the industrial areas around town to see if we can find any place where he might be holding her."

Reid didn't answer her. He was back to drawing new lines on the map with the orange marker while mumbling something to himself. He drew one line along one street then another line along another street. As he kept going his drawing became more insistent and and the mumbling grew louder and louder.

When Emily got back with the more or less drinkable police station coffee Reid was standing so close to the board his nose was almost touching it. He was scribbling like possessed on the whiteboard.

"Reid..." Emily said catching his attention.

"Yeah?" He asked as he turned around.

"Well, first of all you have orange marker on your nose." She chuckled and handed him a napkin, then asking. "Did you have any luck?"

"Well..." Reid said frowning a little. "I was successful if that is what you meant. Luck has really nothing to do with it. Statistics have shown that most perpetrators have a zone where they are the most comfortable operating and that is often close to their workplace or home. The easiest way to find that zone have been proven to be through triangulation and correlation of crime scenes. Of course the correlation can be spurious but I highly doubt that this is." He finished with a crooked smile.

"Wow." Emily smiled tiredly. "A simple 'yes' had been quite enough, Reid."

"Oh, okay." The young genius answered shaking some of his long hair out of his face. "Anyway, look at this." He said pointing at the orange part of the map. "This is very interesting..."

"That's where we're staying!" Emily cut him off pointing at the street on the map where their hotel was located.

"Yes it is." Reid said nodding his head forcefully. "We're staying at a hotel in the middle of the unsub's comfort zone!" His utter fascination at this prospect shone brightly in his voice.

"What are the odds?" Emily asked shaking her head.

"Well, I might need more data but I believe that they are close to..." Reid started matter-of-factly but was cut off by Emily putting a hand over his mouth.

"Rhetorical question, Dr. Reid. _Rhetorical_." She smirked turning back to look at Reid's map.

* * *

Pressing the first number on his speed dial and holding the cell up to his ear a smile spread across Morgan's lips as he wondered what he would be greeted with today.

"You have reached the fairy godmother of the BAU!" A happy voice told him. "How may I grant your wish?"

"Oh, I can think of a few ways." Morgan answered grinning his best Cheshire cat grin.

"Well, well, aren't you a just a big ole tease." Garcia smiled back.

"Tell me you got something good for me, Baby girl."

"Oh Sugar, I got something _very_ good for you..." Garcia trilled. "And you'll be happy to know that I also have some information for you." She sniggered. "Given the perimeters that Em gave me earlier I have found ten restaurants and shops that own or rent some sort of industrial property. All of them have warehouse space in the east part of town."

"Great job, Garcia." Morgan praised her. It wasn't like he'd expected anything less from his sexy computer honey but he thought that it was important to remind her of her greatness as often as possible. "What about the silver SUV?"

"In the given area there are no less than twenty people who have coughed up the dough for a large silver monstrosity. Only three of them are among the ones renting warehouse space." She told him.

"Excellent Baby girl, could you send the names over to my Handheld?"

"I could, Muffin..." Garcia said. "But there's something you should know."

"What, Garcia?" Morgan asked with a touch of worry in his otherwise smooth voice.

"They're all women."

"Women?" He had not seen that coming. Were they really that far off? Had they missed something? Or were they just barking up the completely wrong tree?

"Send them to me anyway." Morgan told her. "And the addresses where they work."

"Okey dokey. They're coming at you... now!"

"Thanks, Baby girl. Do a background check on all their family members and I'll call you as soon as we know anything else." He told her and shut his phone.

Pulling out the PDA he looked at the list of names Garcia had sent him. Frowning he read the names silently to himself. "Carla Swanson, Doreen Harding and Emma Smith." Letting out a deep sigh he added. "Oh ladies, either one of you is doing something you really shouldn't be doing or someone's in for a nasty surprise."

Walking into the conference room he saw that Reid was still drawing lines on his map and Emily was standing behind him apparently trying to follow the kid's jerky movements. He suppressed a chuckle. This wasn't the time to make fun of anyone.

"Hey, guys." He said as he closed the distance between them in a few long strides. "How's that map of yours coming along, kid?"

"Great." Reid answered turning too fast and almost losing his balance. "We've been able to map out the unsub's comfort zone." He told Morgan when he'd regained his equilibrium. "It's this area here." He said pointing at the map.

"Hey, isn't that..." Morgan began.

"Yeah, that's where we're staying." Emily cut him off anticipating his question. "Did you talk to Garcia?" She asked not wanting to get into the whole "what are the odds of that happening" conversation again.

"Yeah, she sent me the names of the people both owning a silver SUV and renting warehouse space whose businesses are close to either dump site." He handed Reid the list of names and addresses. "Thing is they're all women."

"_Really_?" Emily asked arching both eyebrows in surprise. "That's definitely something we haven't profiled. Do you think we could be that far off?"

"I doubt it." Morgan answered looking over at Reid who was back to examining the map. "I mean we could be wrong but my guess is that it's someone close to either of these women who's our unsub."

"Well..." Reid turned to the other two. "Whether or not anyone of them could be our unsub they do all work within the unsub's comfort zone."

* * *

Staring out the side window Hotch closed his eyes and pushed the images floating in front of him away. Turning to look at Rossi seated comfortably in the driver's seat he couldn't see the older man's eyes behind the dark sunglasses he was wearing but he saw how his lips was pressed tightly together.

"Thinking about something?" He asked.

"Oh, you know. Same old, same old..." Rossi answered. "Homicidal maniacs and the various ways they choose to torture their victims." He gave Hotch a grim smile though his eyes never left the road. "You?"

"It's the rapid escalation that's bothering me." Hotch told him. "He held the first two women for a month each and now he killed Mary-Anne just over a week after taking her. What made him change?"

"It could have been the media attention." Rossi pondered. "But we'll have to wait for the coroner's rapport before we can know for sure."

"The news coverage could have been the cause." Hotch agreed. "But then why didn't he kill both women?

"You're right." Rossi said nodding his head. "If us being here spooked him then he should have gotten rid of both women. Not just the one."

"I think he's got a new potential victim lined up." Hotch told him frowning at the thought.

The inside of the car fell silent again. Rossi was focusing on the driving and Hotch staring intently out the window. Hotch's inner thoughts was holding on to his full attention. He would never tell anyone about having thoughts like these. Not even Rossi. But he just couldn't shake how much the latest victim, the latest lifeless body wrapped in a old dirty sheet, looked like Emily.

When Mary-Anne was _just_, not the appropriate word he knew that, missing the thoughts had been easier to tame but now they were running wild. Without his direct permission. He always thought of Jack when they had cases dealing with children and at one point in his life his stomach had lurched a little extra when the victims had been pretty blondes. But now he saw a brunette and his mind pulled up the images of Emily.

He honestly hadn't realized until now just how far gone he was. He didn't really dare let the word love play over his lips but deep down he knew that was what it was.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks so much for reading. Please leave a review!**

**Just a reminder: We're having the Smut Challenge over at the Smut Club (check my profile page for how to get there) and it's not too late to join... It'll be smutty fun – you don't want to miss it!**

**x Sussi**


	14. The Confession

**Dark Eyes**

**A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing. I hope that you will enjoy this chapter. **

* * *

**Chapter fourteen – The confession**

Trying for the hundredth time to sit down instead of pacing impatiently around the conference room Hotch lowered himself onto one of the light wooden chairs. He'd been alternating between sitting and standing during the few hours he'd been back at the station. He was just more on edge than usual. And he knew why. But he chose to ignore the reason why at the moment. Because he had to. Not because he wanted to.

They'd all been waiting anxiously most of the afternoon for the coroner's report. They were also itching to hear back from Garcia and find out if she could locate anyone in any of the three women's families that could be their unsub. But so far they'd heard nothing. They really needed something tangible before they could bring someone in for questioning. They needed more leverage.

Seeing Detective Granger step into the room with a stack of papers in her hand Hotch quickly got to his feet and made his way over to her accepting the file she handed him.

"Coroner's report?" He arched an eyebrow in question at her.

"Yep, I just got it." Detective Granger answered distributing the other folders.

Flipping through the thick wad of papers filled with extensive medical entries and detailed information about the how:s and the when:s of the death of Mary-Anne Nylund Hotch frowned deeply. Unfortunately the rapport would say nothing of the why:s.

"Well..." Hotch said looking at the rest of the team and Detective Granger. "Although Officer Elder _is_ a stupid man and should still be considered a danger to this investigation him telling the media had nothing to do with Mary-Anne's death." He glanced down at the rapport. "The coroner estimates that she was killed sometime between two and four pm yesterday. The news coverage was on at eight pm. She was gone long before that." He sighed closing the folder.

"This report shows that he's changed his MO too." Morgan chimed in. "According to the coroner there were no signs of sexual assault and the bruising wasn't as bad as on the other two victims. But that was to be expected since he only held her a week."

"No signs of sexual assault wasn't though." Emily said. "Something made him change his MO and it wasn't the media or us spooking him." She continued looking questioningly at the others although directing her eyes mostly at Hotch.

"Hotch and I discussed this a bit earlier today." Rossi told them. "For some reason the unsub got rushed and we think it's because he's set his sights on a new woman."

* * *

The last to arrive at what had become their usual table in the picturesque little hotel restaurant Hotch took a seat in the only chair left. The one next to Emily.

Working hard the day had turned into evening and the team's empty stomachs and tired brains had started to make themselves known. When Morgan's stomach had rumbled so loud it drowned out all conversation and Rossi for the third time had started to slide out of his chair Hotch had decided that it was time for a late dinner and then directly back to their respective hotel rooms. They were no use when they were sleep and sustenance deprived.

As Hotch sat down in the empty seat next to Emily it hit him that during the last two days whenever they were somewhere where seating was an option the seat next to Emily had always been empty. Were his feelings common knowledge? Was he _that_ bad at hiding them?

He shook his head a little to shake some sense into it. He didn't really care who else knew what he felt as long as Emily knew and he was going to tell her. Soon.

As she'd spotted Hotch walking towards their table a smile she hadn't been able to hold back had flickered over Emily's lips. And as he'd sat down and his suit clad thigh had grazed hers little jolts of warmth and desire had shot through her. In that moment she'd really wanted to drag her hands all over him and feel his warm skin on hers. But she pushed those thoughts back inside their little box. She was going to act on them. She just had to wait.

Despite their unanimous decision to not talk about cases during dinner the grimness of the situation had placed a murky veil over their evening and they'd all been immersed in their own private thoughts.

Emily had let her mind wander a few months into the future. Well she let it wander into the future she was hoping for. She saw herself smiling happily. Hotch at her side. She felt a little silly imagining things like that. It was almost like she was fourteen and scribbling his name over and over again in a note pad.

She felt a slight tap on her left arm and looked up.

"You look happy." JJ whispered giving her a warm smile and squeezed her arm.

"I feel happy." Emily answered giving JJ a smile back before turning her head slightly to steal a look at Hotch.

* * *

Pacing around his room Hotch was getting more and more tired by the minute. He'd been on his feet most of the day. A day that had started with a proverbial bang at five forty-five in the morning. But he couldn't sit down. If he stopped pacing there would no longer be the sound of his steps to drown out the sounds coming from Emily's room.

They weren't any disturbing sounds. Well not if they had been coming from anyone else that is. They were just distracting.

He could hear her bathroom door opening and closing. One time she'd stayed in there a little longer and he'd imagined her taking a shower. That thought had made him weak at the knees. He just couldn't get the image of Emily naked and wet out of his head. Not how hard he tried.

Then when he'd managed to push that image away a bit he had heard her bed creaking and that sent another set of images flying through his mind.

He sank down onto one of the soft armchairs. This was getting really frustrating. Ever since he'd seen her earlier in the morning Hotch had kept flashing back to Emily during the day. Running a hand through his thick black hair he let out a deep sigh as he recounted the day.

First at the dump site when he'd looked at the lifeless body of a pretty pale brunette lying on the ground he'd felt something tug at his gut. He'd had a very hard time not letting his mind wander to Emily after that.

Then later when he and Rossi had got back to the station he'd seen her having an animated conversation with Reid and he'd felt his whole body growing pleasantly warm. He'd realized then that he would have been perfectly happy just watching her talk and move around the whole day.

Finally just a few hours earlier at dinner they'd sat next to each other again. He'd bumped knees with her a couple of times. All intentional. And he'd felt happy, honest-to-God soul glowingly happy. Just from that little touch.

He knew he had to tell her. And he was planning on telling her. He was just planning to wait for this case to be over. But apparently his legs disagreed with that plan. Because without him telling them to do it they pushed him out of the chair he was sitting in and made their way over to the door. Then his hand turned the knob and he stepped out into the hallway.

* * *

Changing into her favorite tank and shorts Emily had every intention of crawling into bed and trying to will herself to fall asleep. She knew it wouldn't be easy. She knew that Hotch would invade her dreams when she closed her eyes and that the sleep wouldn't be restful.

She had meant what she had told JJ twenty four hours earlier. When the case was over she was going to tell him that her feelings for him were more than just professional or even friendly. Then it'd be out in the open and he could do what he wanted with that piece of knowledge. Although of course she hoped with all she had that he felt the same way.

Perking her ears she thought she heard movement outside the door. But nothing happened and she went back to folding her work clothes.

Then a faint knock sounded at her door followed by a more determined one. Checking her watch she saw that it was almost midnight and she briefly wondered who could be knocking on her door at this time of night.

Maybe it was JJ who wanted to have another girl talk. Emily knew that she was missing Will and Henry and that she'd been having trouble sleeping in hotel rooms the last few months. But JJ had told her earlier that she was exhausted and would probably be dead to the world five minutes after getting back to her room.

Then who could it be? She made her way over the beige carpet to the door and opened it. The man standing there took her by complete surprise.

"_Hotch?_" She exclaimed taking in the sight of her unit chief standing outside her door in a pair of sweats and an FBI t-shirt. "What's wrong? Has something happened?" She felt stabs of worry going through her.

"Yes. Uhm. No." Hotch answered. He didn't know what to say. "Uhm. Can I come in?"

"Of course." Emily answered stepping aside to let him in. Turning to look at him as he sat down on her bed she got even more worried. He was acting a little strange. "What's happened? Is it another body?"

"Another body?" Hotch asked looking at her confused. Then he quickly realized how odd this must be for her. Him storming into her hotel room in the middle of the night. Without any apparent reason.

"No." He said. "It's not another body." He took a deep breath. "It's me."

"You? Are you sick, Hotch?" Emily asked sitting down next to him and placing her delicate hand on top of his.

"No, it's nothing like that." He answered flipping his hand over and grasping her hand in his making her let out a small gasp. "Emily, there's not really any easy way to say this, so I'm just going to say it." Hotch told her looking deep into her brown eyes.

Emily didn't know what to say. That didn't sound good. But he'd been nothing but friendly and lovely to her the last couple of days.

"Emily." He began still holding onto her hand. "For almost a year now my feelings for you have been much deeper than any kind of professional or friendly feelings a unit chief might have for his subordinate." He took a deep breath. "Actually it's probably been longer than a that it just took me a while to realize it."

He gave her a small smile. "But I've been pushing my feelings aside. There are rules. I shouldn't be saying these things. Hell, I shouldn't even be in your room. But I can't deny these feelings anymore. I don't want to do that any longer."

Giving her hand a soft squeeze he fixed his gaze on her. "I think that we could have something great together and I really want the chance to show you that."

Emily didn't know what to do. She'd waited for this moment for such a long time and now that it was here she had no idea what to do.

"Please Emily." Hotch said actually looking nervous. "Say something. Or you don't have to say anything. You can just nod or shake your head."

Slowly a little smile spread across Emily's lips and she nodded her head.

Smiling back at her Hotch let go of her hand and took her face carefully between his big hands pulling her closer. Then he for the first time ever let his lips press softly against hers in a kiss he knew he'd remember every detail of forever.

He felt a fire coming to life in the pit of his stomach as her hands snaked around his neck and she pressed her lips harder against his.

But as Emily let her tongue glide along his bottom lip asking him to let her in he could hear a small voice in the back of his mind. He tried ignoring it and letting himself go in the kiss but the voice grew louder. It told him that he was doing the wrong thing. That he'd lose track of what was important. That he'd lose track of the case. And to his discredit he listened.

Feeling that something wasn't quite right Emily reluctantly pulled away from Hotch. He had a deep worry line between his brows. "What's wrong Hotch?" She asked letting her fingers trail his strong jaw.

"I... I'm..." He stuttered. "I'm sorry... I can't." Not saying anything else or letting Emily say anything in response he quickly got off the bed and made his way out the door closing it behind him.

* * *

**A/N: Please don't make me hide behind a bush... **

**x Sussi**

**PS. My birthday tomorrow... If anyone wants to give me Hotch with a strategically placed bow... I'm totally okay with that :D**


	15. I want you I want her

**Dark Eyes**

**A/N: Yay! I broke the elusive 100 reviews barrier! Thank you so much to each and everyone of you! You are all awesome! **

**I've decided to dedicate this chapter to **_**phoebe9509 **_**who gave me my 100****th**** review and who is my awesome co-moderator and co-creator of the awesome Smut Club!**

* * *

**Chapter fifteen – I want you. I want her.**

The moment he closed the door behind him with a dull thud Hotch regretted his decision. He just didn't know which decision he was regretting. Leaving her or going over to her room in the first place. Leaning against the door he buried his face in his calloused palms. He should have waited. He shouldn't have let his heart take over his rational mind. He was too wrapped up in the case to think about anything else.

He knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to rip open the door and throw himself back into Emily's arms. But now he didn't know if that was an option anymore. She had kissed him back. She wanted to be with him. And he'd left her. What if she didn't want him anymore?

Groaning he scrubbed a hand over his creased brow and tried pushing himself off of the door. But he was too tired and lost his balance falling hard back against the door. Then just as he tried pushing himself off again a hard knock shook the door and a voice outside called his name.

"_Aaron!_ I know you're there. Open up!" Emily called from the other side of the door knocking on it frantically.

Slowly the door slid open allowing her entrance. Walking in on slightly shaky legs Emily spotted Hotch standing a few feet in next to the large bed. He wasn't looking at her. Instead his eyes were fixed on a spot on the floor in front of him. He looked sad and for a second she just wanted to run to him and throw herself in his arms. But they needed to talk if they were ever going to be able to have a healthy relationship.

"_You_ came to me..." She started trying to hide the tiny wobble that held her voice. "And _you_ told me that you wanted something more and _you_ kissed me." She stopped to take a deep breath and Hotch cut in.

"I know and I'm sorry." He said still not looking at her.

"Hotch, I don't want an apology." She sighed shaking her head. "I need you to listen to me." She calmly told him as she sank down on the bed pulling him along with her.

Hotch looked up and opened his mouth to attempt another apology but Emily shook her head again and he closed his mouth without saying anything.

"I understand why you left, Aaron." Emily told him. "I understand the pressure that this puts on you. I know that this job is who you are. It's who I am too. That's one of the reasons I think we'd be great together." She placed a soft hand on his thigh. "But we both have to allow ourselves a life outside the BAU too." She said trailing reassuring circles over his pant leg.

Hotch inhaled deeply and wrapped his hand around Emily's. "I know you don't want an apology but _I am _sorry. That was a stupid thing to do." He gave her a small smile. "I really do want it to work out between us. I just... panicked. This job hasn't really helped my love life in the past."

"This time it will. We'll take it one day at a time. We'll make it work." Emily promised giving him a warm comforting smile that made him believe her. "Because God, Hotch I want you so bad I can't see straight."

He chuckled a little at her blunt declaration feeling the pressure lifting. "I want you too." He told her.

"Good." She smiled. "Then we've established that we both want each other. Now what are we going to do about that?"

"Believe me." Hotch said taking both her hands in his. "I really want to do something about it right now. But I think we should wait. At least until we get back to D.C."

"I think I can wait that long." Emily smiled back. "When this case is over we'll go out and we'll have a long talk and then we'll do something about that whole wanting each other thing." She gave him a wide grin.

"That sounds good to me." Hotch smiled back showing off both dimples and pulled her in for their second kiss.

* * *

Penelope Garcia liked a lot of things. She liked troll dolls and fluffy pens and strawberry margaritas and high heeled shoes and Prince William and her car and dark-skinned love gods. To name just a few things.

One thing that she utterly adored was the BAU in the early hours of the day. When she was the only one there. Granted sometimes Hotch was there too but he kept to his office and never disturbed her fun. She knew that he knew what she was doing in the office at four in the morning but he never called her out on it.

Sometimes she was working. A lot of the time she just had fun. One of her favorite things to do was timing herself getting around the bullpen on Morgan's desk chair.

She would have loved it if their super boss would have loosened his tie sometime and joined her for a nice desk chair race. But she knew that Aaron Hotchner wasn't a desk chair race kind of man.

And still her little Em loved the man. Maybe after a while together with Emily he would be a desk chair race kind of man. Hopefully he'd at least no longer be a stay at the office all night kind of man.

She glanced up at the clock shaped like a daisy hanging on the wall in her dark sanctuary. Four thirty-six. It would be another two hours before Kevin would be there with a change of clothes and a breakfast blueberry muffin for her.

This was not however a night for desk chair racing or any other kind of crazy fun filled activity. This night only had time for work. Dragging a fine toothed comb through someone's life and family was not an easy task. She just made it look that way.

She hadn't been to her apartment in over twenty-four hours and she wouldn't be going back there until she'd found something for her crime fighters to work with. Hence sending Kevin to get her a change of clothes. She'd sent him away with very precise instructions. She loved Kevin but he didn't have the very best fashion sense and needed her guidance.

Turning her attention back onto one of her many screens she continued rifling through the life of Carla Swanson, fifty-four years old and the proud owner of a cozy little cafe in central Birka. Had she or anyone in her family done anything they weren't supposed to? So far they all looked clean.

A sound coming from one of the other screens captured her attention and she rolled over to check it out. Odd. She'd got a link sent to her from some obscure address. Now, that _never ever_ meant anything good.

Holding her breath without really being aware of doing so Garcia clicked on the link.

"Oh, my. Not good." She told her empty office.

* * *

All thoughts she might have been entertaining of waiting until after the case was closed started to slowly seep away from Emily's brain as Hotch's lips continued their slow exploration. He was planting small surprisingly soft kisses on her forehead, cheeks, chin and down her neck. And the feeling of his lips on her skin was driving all other thoughts from her mind.

Twining her arms around his strong torso she sought his mouth with hers wanting to feel that close comforting connection again. Now that she knew what he tasted like, a faint mixture of coffee and mint, she never wanted any other taste to reach her taste buds. Gripping him a little tighter she slid her tongue along his bottom lip gently probing his teeth telling him that she wanted to come in.

Smiling through the kiss Hotch parted his lips to let the impatient woman in. He'd do anything for her. Letting her tongue roam around the corners of his mouth was not one of the hardest decisions he'd had to make. Although her closeness was starting to raise one certain problem.

"Em..." He mumbled into her mouth not noticing that he used the abbreviation of her name. "We decided that we were going to wait but if we continue down this path then I don't know if I'll be able to do that." The last few words came out in a growl as Emily's plump lips connected with his neck.

"I know..." She said breathing hot air against the sensitive skin on his neck. "But I've always thought that waiting is highly overrated."

Very reluctantly Hotch pulled away a little from Emily when he noticed that his problem didn't diminish but grew in size as her lips trailed along his jaw.

Sitting down on the bed he drew a few deep cleansing breaths and tried his best at rambling baseball statistics and picturing old college professors.

Sinking down next to him Emily shot Hotch a tiny pout. "I'm not getting laid tonight, are I?" She asked chuckling a little.

"Emily..." Hotch said pulling her close to his side. "There's nothing that I want more than to make love to you. But we can't tonight. My head is filled with the case and it wouldn't be fair to you."

"I know..." Emily smiled at him and snuggled closer. "And it wouldn't be fair to you either. You might get distracted and miss one of your crucial moves or something."

"I promise you..." Hotch said his deep eyes twinkling in a way she hadn't seen before. "...that when we get back I'll show you _all_ of my moves." He smiled a fully dimpled smile at her and raised his eyebrows in wide bows getting a soft giggle in return.

"Okay... So we can't sleep together." Emily said twisting her hands in the soft fabric of his well worn t-shirt. "But could we _sleep_ sleep together? I don't want to go back to my lonely room."

"Of course." Hotch said sliding them both farther up on the bed. "I don't want you to leave either."

Crawling under the covers and snuggling close to Hotch the most satisfied smile that had graced her face in a long time spread across Emily's lips.

* * *

A horrified look spread across Garcia's usually happy face as she watched the scenes playing before her.

It was dark but she could still make out the slight female figure sitting on the floor behind the wide metal bars. She understood from the steady frame that the camera was mounted on something. Probably fifteen, maybe twenty, feet from the small cage the woman was locked in.

She also understood that this was their last victim. This was Denise Carlson. She looked so defeated and Garcia felt an icy wind chilling her heart. When you feel defeated you won't fight. And fighting might be her only chance.

A voice that Garcia identified to be male began talking quietly. It wasn't an unpleasant voice. She shuddered. He sounded... nice. Though not genuinely nice. No, it was that pasted niceness that you might find in a store clerk or waiter that had greater aspirations than selling or serving stuff to people they don't know.

She didn't really know who he was talking to. It didn't seem like he was talking to the woman in the video. Unfortunately this unsub was smart enough not to get in the shot. So she couldn't see him. Only hear him.

No, he wasn't talking to the woman. And Garcia got a feeling that he wasn't talking to her either.

_This is where you'll first be staying. It's not much but you won't be staying here long. This is only until you've proven that you're good enough._

She could hear him moving around but he stayed out of the shot.

_But don't worry. I know that you'll be good enough. You're so beautiful. You'll be a much better match than any of the others. You'll be perfect._

Then the screen went blank. It was only a little more than a two minute video but it was enough to chill Garcia to the bones.

"Oh my, I need to call the boss man like right now."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave me a little note!**

**Also for the record... I love my cousin (who I don't get to see nearly enough). When he saw my background picture on my laptop he didn't say "who's the old guy" he said "Oh! Criminal Minds, I love that show"... my background picture is of course one of Hotch... the same as my avatar actually...**

**Just to let you know... My brother and his two small children have decided to come on a surprise visit starting tomorrow... so... that will probably slow down my writing but I'll try to manage to still post on Saturday and Wednesday.**

**x Sussi**


	16. Something familiar

**Dark Eyes**

**A/N: Thanks so very much for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate it and I love hearing from you!**

* * *

**Chapter sixteen – Something familiar**

Languidly stretching her limps Emily slowly rolled over in the soft bed. Blinking her eyes a few times to rid them of sleep she took in the familiar surroundings of the hotel room. Something had woken her. Glancing down she realized that it was the broad arm clutching her waist possessively that was the reason. For a fraction of a second she felt a bit confused but then the events of the previous night trickled back filling her heart with a giddy wonder.

She had fallen asleep in the warm and secure arms of her unit chief. It did sound a bit unbelievable. But it was very true. Although not something she'd dared believe would ever happen until just a few days ago. And here she was wrapped around SSA Aaron Hotchner. The, to others, emotionally unavailable man who'd owned her heart for such a long time now. She couldn't help the thoroughly content smile flickering across her lips.

Hotch started to stir slightly and she rubbed light circles on his back cooing quietly in his ear. It wasn't even light out yet and she wanted him to sleep as long as possible. The heaviest pressure of their cases was always on him and he deserved to rest when he had the chance.

"_Crap._" She hissed through gritted teeth as Hotch's cell started to vibrate and let out a high pitched ringtone.

Sitting up so fast and straight that she suspected that he hadn't at all been sleeping as soundly as she had thought the last five minutes Hotch grabbed his phone and pressed it to his ear.

"Hotchner." He said running a hand over his face. "It's alright, Garcia. What is it?" He asked sounding wide awake.

"Were you able to trace it?" He asked and by the deep frown descending on his face Emily could tell that the answer he was given was not a satisfactory one. "Try, Garcia. We need to find out who sent that video."

He got off the bed. "Good. I know you always do. Send the video to the laptop and to my PDA." He paused listening to her answer. "Thanks. I'll talk to you later."

Hanging up he turned and looked at Emily. "Garcia has been sent a video. She says that it shows Denise Carlson locked in a cage and that the unsub can be heard talking. We have to gather the team and head to the station."

Taking a few steps towards the bathroom he stopped and turned back around closing the distance between himself and the bed in three long steps. Kneeling down on the bed he wrapped a hand around her neck and pulled her into a short but keen kiss.

"Good morning, Sweetheart." He smiled at her. "You have no idea how much I love saying that." He placed another quick kiss on her half-parted lips and got off the bed.

"And I love hearing you say it." Emily smiled back. "Say it again."

"Good morning, Sweetheart." He happily obliged her feeling how his insides heated at the sound of the endearment leaving his lips and at the look in Emily's eyes. "I'll just grab a quick shower before we go back to the station." He told her opening the bathroom door.

"I'll go and do that too." Emily answered. "I'm going back to my room and then we'll meet in ten?"

"Okay." Hotch answered and closed the door behind him.

Walking over to the door Emily could hear him turning on the shower and lingered a little holding onto the doorknob but not turning it. She could hear the water splashing and as she looked across the room her eyes landed on the bed. The mattress had two dents in it and two pillows laid side by side. Two people had slept in that bed. Emily smiled.

* * *

"Roll the video again." Morgan said leaning impatiently against the conference room table and starring accusingly at the laptop. "There's got to be something we're missing. Something that tells us where this son-of-a-bitch is keeping her."

"Well..." Reid said as he clicked the necessary keys on the laptop to rewind the video. "From what I can tell there are no windows and the floor seems to be concrete." He said tapping his bony fingers against each other. "I'm pretty sure that we were right when we assumed that he's holding them in some sort of warehouse."

Pressing play the video started rolling on the screen of the laptop again showing the same images as the multiple earlier times they'd seen it.

The image flickered and the black screen changed into the dusky room with the cage in the middle. The cage didn't look larger than maybe seven by three feet and no taller than six feet. On the floor was a thin mattress and huddled into a tight ball on that mattress was Denise Carlson. She was clutching her knees to her chest shielding most of her body from view but you could tell that she was thin and pale. Her dark hair was messy and the only piece of clothing that she seemed to be wearing was a flimsy black nightgown. Nothing that would sufficiently ward out the cold.

The unsub spoke with his soft and artificially pleasant voice but nothing other than that he had his eyes on a new woman could be taken from what he said. And that situation they'd already counted on. There had been no doubt in their minds after the death of Mary-Anne Nylund that he was already planning his next abduction.

They couldn't see another cage in the video but assumed that there was one. They did not believe that the unsub would be bold enough to keep his two victims together. He wasn't strong or self assured enough. Two women together, albeit in a weakened state, might very well be able to overpower him.

"I'm afraid we're running out of time." Hotch told the team when the video was finished. "He is probably stalking his new victim right now." He crossed his arms over his chest. "I know we don't have anything on them yet but we need to do interviews with the three women Garcia found. It's something at least."

"I'd rather do anything than just stand around here." Morgan said brandishing a large hand at the flourescently lit room. It wasn't even seven yet and the outside light wasn't enough to light up the whole room. "I'll do one of those interviews."

"Alright." Hotch said looking from Morgan to Rossi to Emily. "Morgan you go to Carla Swanson. Rossi take Emma Smith and Emily you can take Doreen Harding. They're all probably still at home but you have their work addresses if necessary." He involuntarily let his eyes linger on Emily an action that didn't pass Rossi by. "I'll stay here with Reid and JJ and see if maybe we can get something else off the video. Huddle all information to me."

"Will do." Emily smiled swallowing the last of her second cup of morning coffee. JJ didn't miss the twinkle in Emily's eyes as they gazed at Hotch and raised an approving but questioning eyebrow at her friend. One that Emily did not however see as her eyes were busy elsewhere.

* * *

Knocking on the blue door of the small but classy white house Emily patiently waited for one of its residents to open taking a moment to look at the large leafy garden. It was early in the morning and she understood that the people living there would not be all too thrilled to see her.

Soft steps came closer on the other side of the door and Emily expected that it would be Doreen Harding herself opening the door.

She had however not expected what she saw when the door was eased open. Maybe she should have, but she hadn't. At once a tiny alarm bell went off in Emily's head.

The woman who opened the door was very pretty. She was in her late thirties or possibly early forties. She had long dark hair that was pulled from her heart shaped face in a high ponytail. Her eyes that sparkled despite the early hour was a warm chocolate shade. Had her complexion been lighter she wouldn't have been far from looking like Emily's twin. She was a little shorter and not quite as athletically built but her dark hair and brown eyes bore a striking resemblance to Emily. And as Emily noticed also to their four victims. Especially Mary-Anne Nylund and Denise Carlson.

Flashing her badge at the confused woman she smiled a tight smile. "Mrs. Harding." The woman gave her a startled nod. "My name is Emily Prentiss." She introduced herself. "I'm with the FBI. May I come in?"

"The FBI?" Doreen looked wide eyed at her. "Why? What's the matter? Has something happened?" She asked stumbling a little over the words.

"Please, I'd rather we discuss it inside." Emily told her giving her a friendly smile.

"Of course." Doreen said quickly stepping aside. "Please, come in."

"Thank you." Emily answered treading into the neat little hallway and making her way farther into the little house.

"What is this about?" Doreen asked when they were both seated in the living room. The initial shock at being woken by the FBI had diminished and her voice was calm but questioning.

"We're investigating a series of homicides." Emily told her truthfully.

"What has that got to do with me?" Doreen cut her off her wide eyes filled with an agast look.

"We don't know yet, Mrs Harding." Emily said. "Maybe nothing but your name _has _come up in our investigation." She gave the woman a small smile. "Are you the only one at home at the moment?"

"Yes." Doreen answered. "My husband is at a job interview."

"At seven thirty in the morning?" Emily arched an eyebrow at her.

"Yes. Sometimes they have him come at inconvenient hours." Doreen answered a little defiantly and Emily suspected that she was reassuring herself as much as she was her.

"So your husband is unemployed." She asked keeping her voice calm and polite while her mind was working furiously ticking off boxes.

"Yes." Doreen answered seemingly more and more agitated. "He was let go six months ago. But he helps me out at my boutique." She said looking Emily straight in the eye. "And he helps me with the inventory at our extra storage space. Just until he finds something new."

* * *

Leaning closer to the laptop JJ squinted trying to see the thing she knew she was missing. There was something that was so familiar in that video. She just couldn't for the life of her figure out what it was.

It wasn't the room and it wasn't the girl. The room was nondescript and she had already known what Denise Carlson looked like so that couldn't be the root of that deja vu feeling she was having. She rewound the video and pressed play for the what felt like the two-hundredth time. Pausing the video she beckoned Reid over.

"What's up, JJ?" Reid asked as he took the chair next to her.

"Spence, could you zoom in on the picture here?" She asked pointing at a spot on the screen. Maybe if she could take a closer look at Denise Carlson she'd realize what was so familiar.

"Sure." Reid answered zooming in on the woman sitting in the cage. "What is it, JJ?"

"I don't know, I just feel like I've seen something before." JJ answered staring intently at the screen. Reid looked at it too in an attempt to maybe see what JJ was thinking of but couldn't find. But nothing seemed familiar to him. He turned to JJ to suggest that she leave it for a few minutes and then come back to it.

But when he turned to face her JJ was already half-way out of her seat. "Hotch!" She called as she made her way out of the conference room as fast as her heeled feet allowed her. "I think I know who our unsub is!"

* * *

**A/N: Thanks so much! I hope you liked it!**

**So... any ideas as to who the unsub might be?**

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**Come on over to The Smut Club forum (check my profile page) and join our new challenge! It's called **_**The "Caught with your hand in the cookie jar" Challenge**_** and it will be delightfully fabulous and fun! Trust me you don't want to miss out!**

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**x Sussi**


	17. And the culprit is

**Dark Eyes**

**A/N: Thank you all for being such lovely readers! Thanks to all who have read, reviewed and put this story on your alert/favorite story! You are truly awesome!**

* * *

**Chapter seventeen – And the culprit is...**

"JJ! What?" Hotch boomed as he came towards JJ with fast thundering steps nearly crashing into Reid who quickly leaped to the side.

"I think I know who the unsub is." JJ repeated as their unit chief came up to her. "I think it's Doreen Harding's husband."

"What makes you say that?" Detective Granger, who'd been coming up behind Hotch, asked looking at the three agents.

"I didn't make the connection at first." JJ said. "But I _knew_ there was something familiar in that video." She inhaled deeply looking at the three pairs of expectant eyes fixed on her.

"Remember that Emily and I went to a little lingerie boutique our first day here?" She asked getting affirmative nods from all.

"Yes. I recommended it." Detective Granger told her. "What has that got to do with this?"

"Go on, JJ." Hotch prodded.

"I checked the information that Garcia put together. Doreen Harding owns that boutique and I think her husband's a clerk there." JJ told them. "It's one of the places all four victims have frequented and it's right in the middle of the unsub's comfort zone!"

She turned the laptop so that everyone could see the screen. She pointed at the zoomed in picture. "_That's_ what I recognized." She said tapping her finger against the frozen still of Denise Carlson. "I saw that exact nightgown in the shop. I showed it to Emily. And now that I think about it I'm _sure_ that the clerk was a man in his forties." She finished almost a little out of breath.

"Excellent, JJ." Hotch told her while punching Garcia's number on the key set of his cell phone. "Garcia."

"Boss man!"

"Garcia, I need everything you have on Doreen Harding's husband." Hotch told his trusted tech genius.

"Right away, Sir." Garcia told him briskly. "I was actually just about to call you." She said her lips tilting slightly upwards in a satisfied smile. "That man was a sneaky little bugger. But fear not for I am sneakier."

"What did you find, Penelope?" Hotch asked leaning against the table.

"Okay my pretties. Here's the deal. Clyde Harding, age forty-two. Married to Doreen Harding, age forty. She's the owner of the lingerie boutique Harding's Lingerie." She took a breath before continuing. "He was let go from his job as a programmer six months ago. Now, everything about him seems to be squeaky clean."

"You mean you didn't find anything on him?" JJ asked confused and dispirited.

"Oh, my little jelly bean. I said _seems _to be squeaky clean. He's actually anything but." She cocked her head proudly. "Clyde Harding has only been Clyde Harding the last ten years and for those ten years he has to my knowledge stayed out of trouble. Maybe because he's been married for eight of those ten years. Don't know, don't care." She took another deep breath.

"However, before that he was Kenny Johnson and lived in Duluth. He was arrested several times. A few of those times were for peeping through young women's windows and another for minor assault, he hit a prostitute over the head." She raised an eyebrow behind her purple glasses. "So all the makings of a very charming man."

"This has got to be him, Hotch." JJ exclaimed.

"Yeah." Hotch agreed quietly. For a short moment he disappeared into himself and a slight tint of worry could be seen in his steady gaze if watched closely enough. "JJ, call Rossi and Morgan." He said as he willed himself away from that place. "Tell them to go to the warehouse rented by the Hardings. Back up will meet them there."

He turned to Detective Granger. "Detective?"

"On my way." She said and hurried off to collect officers to join her.

"I'll call Emily." Hotch told Reid and JJ as he walked off to find a private corner.

* * *

"Hotch!" Emily answered after having fished her ringing cell out of the pocket in her dress pants.

"Prentiss." Hotch said using her last name as a sign that they at that moment were all business. "Why did it take you so long to answer?" He added not completely capable to avoid voicing his worries.

"Sorry, Hotch. I was just leaving Doreen Harding's home." She answered and looked back at the little white house with the blue door she was confident housed a brutal killer.

"Were her husband there as well?" Hotch asked again feeling the worry but managing to keep it inside.

"No, she was the only one there. Said that he was on a job interview." Emily told him her disbelief shining clearly through her voice.

"We need you back at the station." Hotch told her keeping his voice calm but simmering with relief that she hadn't had to face the unsub alone on the inside. "We think we know who the unsub is."

"So do I." Emily said. "I think it's Doreen Harding's husband."

"That's the same conclusion that we've come to. I've sent Dave and Morgan to check out their warehouse space. I need you here. If he's not there then we need to be ready for a search." And he didn't want her anywhere near that murderous bastard but he didn't tell her that. She's an accomplished agent. He was well aware of that. But there's no need sending her to where the unsub holds his victims. His beautiful brunette victims.

"I'm on my way." Emily told him. "But I should warn you I'm way out in the suburbs so it'll take me at least thirty minutes to get back."

"No worries." Hotch answered. "I'll see you when you get here."

"See you." Emily answered back and disconnected as she climbed into the dark sedan she'd borrowed from Detective Granger.

* * *

Securing the Kevlar tightly around his muscled upper body Morgan scanned the surrounding streets. Nothing seemed out of place around the building he was standing outside. It was a fairly deserted neighborhood filled with large industrial buildings and smaller buildings containing storage space.

It was outside one of those buildings he was now standing together with Rossi and a handful of local officers, Detective Granger and Officer Newton among them. There was no silver SUV in sight. Only two black SUV:s, his and Rossi's, a few squad cars belonging to the officers and a seemingly abandoned truck.

Leading the pack he eased closer to the door. Holding his hand up to indicate that he wanted his followers to hold back he reached his other hand to grasp the doorknob. The door was locked. Obviously. It wouldn't be a very successful warehouse if just anyone could walk in and help themselves.

Well then, only one thing to do. Taking a step back he plunged his booted foot forcefully through the door making it fly open with a loud crash.

He instructed half of the officers and the detective filing in behind him and Rossi to follow Rossi down one corridor and the other half to follow him down the other.

Slowly creeping along the dimly lit corridor he noticed to his relief that all the doors had small signs on them indicating who owned the space. When he got to the third door on the left the small sign said 'Harding's Lingerie – Doreen Harding'.

Talking quietly into the tiny microphone attached to his wrist he caught Rossi's attention. "Rossi, I've found the room. I don't hear anything from it but get your ass over here anyway."

"On my way." Came Rossi's deep voice over the earpiece.

And a few short moments later he came round a corner followed by the detective and two other officers one of them holding a crowbar. Morgan let the officer with the crowbar take place in front of him opting not to put his foot through a door for a second time that day.

The first thing he saw when he got into the small space was a wall covered in shelves. Then to his dismay he realized that their unsub was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't there. After yelling a loud "Clear!" he took a few quick steps inside and was met by two cages. One that was empty and one that held a woman slumped over on a bloodied mattress.

"Paramedics!" He called into the mic. "Hurry! Get some bolt cutters!" He told the officers scuttling in holding a large tool box.

When the door had been cut open he threw himself inside and kneeled down next to the lifeless woman. Placing two fingers on her pulse point he held his own breath.

Feeling a slight thump under his middle and index fingers he let out a heavy sigh of unadulterated relief. Denise Carlson was bloodied and bruised but she was still alive.

* * *

Standing outside the warehouse building Morgan watched as the ambulance drove off with Denise Carlson. She'd regained consciousness a few minutes earlier and the paramedics were confident that she was going to be alright. She was badly bruised and slightly dehydrated but nothing that would leave any permanent damage. Not physically at least. Mentally he wasn't so sure but he pushed thoughts like that to the side. He couldn't let himself go there right now.

That part of their day had been successful but the day was far from over. Their unsub was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't at home or in the shop and he definitely wasn't in that warehouse. That could only mean one thing. He was out there somewhere prowling for a new victim.

It would only be a matter of time before he found out that they'd found Denise Carlson and that they were looking for him. There was no telling what he might do when that happened.

Frowning he dialed Hotch's number.

"Morgan. What's happening?" Hotch's stern voice asked him.

"We found Denise." He told the other man and heard him release a breath. "She's banged up but she'll be okay eventually. The paramedics took her to the hospital."

"What about Harding?" Hotch asked.

"He's not here." Morgan answered. "We've swept the premises twice but no sign of him."

"Alright, you and Rossi come back to the station. We've got surveillance at the shop and at his home. We have to figure out where else he could be."

"We're about ten minutes out. See you soon." Morgan answered and clicked off.

Putting his cell phone back into his suit pocket Hotch turned to JJ and Reid who were both watching him with querying eyes.

"They have Denise Carlson and she's going to be fine." He told them and could see them both breathing out deep breaths. "There's no sight of Harding though so we have to think of places where he could be. Reid, what does your map tell you?" Hotch asked looking at Reid.

"If he's within his comfort zone, and if he's looking for a new victim he probably is, then he's bound to be close." Reid told them showing them the marked area on the map. "But we should keep in mind that he might have been on his way to where he was holding his victims."

"We'll coordinate with Detective Granger as soon as she gets back. We'll need officers canvasing the streets. We'll check out all of the places that we know he goes to when searching for a victim."

"Did Emily say she was coming straight back?" JJ asked.

"Yeah, she should be here in a couple of minutes." Hotch answered and walked over to the window. Deep down in the pit of his stomach he couldn't ignore the tiny nagging nerves. He knew that the unsub was out there somewhere. He knew that Emily looked just like his latest two victims and he knew that the unsub had seen her before.

Looking out the window his nerves eased as he noticed the dark sedan that Emily was using pulling up outside the station. Turning to go outside and meet her he saw something glimmering in the corner of his eye. Twisting around his heart dropped as he saw the silver SUV.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! You know I love to hear from you!**

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**x Sussi**


	18. The moment it happens

**Dark Eyes**

**A/N: Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! You're the best!**

* * *

**Chapter eighteen – The moment it happens**

_She drove right past him. He'd been waiting there almost two hours knowing that she'd eventually show up. Her soft dark hair flowing over her delicate shoulders and her pretty brown eyes focused on the road. That was the first time he'd seen her since he saw her for the very first time at the shop. He'd known already then that he would get to see her again. He would make sure of it._

_She didn't see him this time though. The first time they'd met she'd smiled her bright smile at him but this time she was too focused on her driving. He'd wait a little while and see where she parked. Then he'd go after her. He would make her see that it was him that she wanted to be with. No one else._

_She would have to go with him. If she resisted he would persuade her. It was for her own good. She'd realize that eventually._

_He watched as she pulled up outside the police station and he thought of how sorry he was for her that she'd been tricked into believing what the police told her. And what the other agents told her. He knew that there were agents. He knew that she was one of them. He'd known that all along. But she would be on his side. He'd make her see that his side was the right side to be on. She could make him happy. _

_She stepped out of the car and he picked up his pace. Only thirty feet left before she would be in his arms._

_Coming closer he could see every soft curve of her body and he let his mind briefly wander to how she would look in the lingerie. The lingerie that his wife sold to other women but never wore for him. His ungrateful wife. He felt the bile rise and his temper heating. She would replace her. And if she didn't want to he'd have to punish her. Like he had the others. _

_He gripped the hammer in his hand tighter. Excitement crashed through him as he came up only a few feet behind her. Reaching out he could almost touch her._

* * *

Looking out the window Hotch scanned his surroundings frantically searching for anyone looking remotely like Clyde Harding. They had his driver's license photo but that was a few years old and he wasn't sure if it was accurate anymore.

There weren't many people out there. The suit clad business men and women that had been scurrying by just a short while earlier were almost all gone. Just a few people outside were hurrying down the street to get to their workplace before the clock struck nine. There were also a few moms and dads pushing strollers and clutching paper mugs talking animatedly whilst sipping their lattes. And there was the odd police officer walking across the street to the popular coffee shop.

He let his eyes jump from face to face trying to find the one he knew was out there somewhere. Then he spotted him. A short man wearing jeans, a blue sports jacket and sneakers that was almost jogging along the sidewalk dodging between the business people and the moms and dads making his way with swift steps towards Emily.

With his hand clasped securely around his Glock Hotch started running out of the room leaving Reid and JJ behind him looking bewildered. He had long forgotten that they were even there. The second he realized who the unsub had chosen as his next victim only one thing had resided in his mind. His _Emily_. He needed to protect _his_ Emily.

"Hotch!" JJ called after him. "What's going on?"

Quickly getting out of his seat Reid made a dash for the window checking hurriedly to see what had grabbed Hotch's attention so forcefully.

He saw the man walking towards Emily immediately and made the connection at once.

"JJ! It's the unsub!" He exclaimed producing his revolver and making his way out of the room as fast as his recently healed knee would allow him with JJ close behind.

Running through the police station receiving questioning looks from most of the officers Hotch sobered somewhat. He knew he couldn't just gun down the unsub even if that was the primal urge within him. He wouldn't hesitate to use any force necessary if the unsub tried to harm Emily but it was crucial not to get carried away. Even if it was Emily that Harding was going for.

Pushing the door open with such force that it flew up and crashed with a loud bang against the wall Hotch pushed his way through it still clutching his gun. Looking up he saw Harding closing in on Emily with his hands raised to grab her.

* * *

The drive back to the station from the warehouse had been made in near silence. Only a few words had been uttered by either man. Coming closer to the police station Morgan looked over at the older man.

"Do you think we'll find him before he finds another victim?" He asked, his groomed eyebrows pulled together in a deep frown.

"I do." Rossi said. "I've got a feeling he's not far away." He scanned the streets. "We'll find him."

Driving down the street towards the police station they both let their eyes trail over the street and the sidewalk. Both watching the mix of different people walking down the sidewalk or scrambling across the street.

Pulling closer to the station Rossi noticed Emily stepping out of a dark sedan parked in the detective's parking spot. She glanced at the conference room window and there was no doubt in his mind just what she was looking for.

He'd noticed the little glances between them. Never anything unprofessional of course. That wasn't in their nature. Just sweet little glances. And he'd noticed how they seemed to gravitate towards each other when they were in the same room. He was fairly certain that either Hotch or Emily had got their ass out of the carriage so to say. And good for them. No one deserved it more than them. And he was sure they'd make the perfect couple.

Noticing how Emily turned back around and started climbing back into the car he chuckled to himself. She'd obviously forgotten something. She always did. He used to joke that if her head wasn't attached to her body it'd be in the lost and found basket at their local Starbucks.

Then he saw how a short man in his forties came up behind Emily. It almost looked like he was going to grab her.

"Rossi!" Morgan bellowed. "That's Harding! That's the unsub!"

* * *

Emily slowly rolled in onto the cobblestone street that led to the police station. It was still early but the morning rush of people on their way to work had worn off. Left were only a few late business clad stragglers and some police officers making their way across the street heading for the Italian coffee shop that they went to when they were in dire need of proper coffee. The one that she and Hotch had made a coffee run of their own to a few days earlier.

She smiled at the memory. She'd realized now that she thought about it that it had been his way of showing her that he was ready for a change. That he wanted something more. She couldn't wait to get this bastard Harding behind bars so that they all could leave and go back to DC.

She had a date with a very handsome man. Maybe they could go to some fancy restaurant or maybe to some nice quiet bar where they could find a dark secluded corner and only have eyes for each other. Then they could go back to her place. Or his. Either way.

Or, on second thought, maybe they should just skip the restaurant and the bar all together and go back to his or hers straight away. Maybe get some Chinese or pizza and open a bottle of wine. Save the fancy stuff for later. She really wanted to have long and profound conversations with him. She wanted to get to know him as Aaron rather than Hotch. But at the moment she just desperately needed to feel his body pressed against hers. That fierce need almost scared her a bit.

Pulling up into Detective Granger's parking spot outside the police station she pulled herself from her distracting reverie. Opening the door she felt the warm air that the sedan's air conditioning had kept at bay flow against her face and she thought for a second about how it was turning into another unusually hot day.

Unfolding her long legs out of the car she made sure that her heels were a safe distance from the cobblestones. She did not want to fall flat on her face. Especially when she didn't have her Hotch in shining armor there to help her up. Besides she'd had enough clumsy moments on this case to last her at least to the end of the month.

Stepping out she glanced at the window she knew was the one in the conference room where she suspected that Hotch, JJ and Reid were working hard at trying to find where Harding could be. She thought that maybe she saw a dark shape in the window but the light was reflecting off it so she couldn't be sure. But still she felt that little spark in her belly. Hotch was waiting for her.

Turning around to lock the car the sun glared her in the eyes and she realized that she'd forgotten her sunglasses on top of the dashboard. As she opened the door and started to climb back inside she could hear hurried steps behind her. A chill went down her spine and just like that she knew who it was.

Feeling the cold presence behind her Emily stiffened. Her hand carefully pulled her Glock out of its holster at her hip trying to avoid making any sudden movements. She didn't think he was armed. He hadn't been before at least.

Slowly she started to turn around but wasn't even half-way when a hand grasped at her throat and pulled her backwards causing her to stumble to the ground and her Glock to fall awkwardly from her hand.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I really hope that you enjoyed it! **

**Friends – we are closing in on the end of this story! Just 2 chapters left... Please tell me what you think of it!**

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**x Sussi**


	19. The End

**Dark Eyes**

**A/N: If you are perceptive you may notice that today isn't Wednesday... and I've been sticking to my Wednesday/Saturday posting schedule obsessively so not to get ahead of myself... But... this chapter was done and the last one is almost done so I thought why not post today. So that's what I'm doing... I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

**Chapter nineteen – The End**

Feeling the air forced roughly from her lungs as she hit the ground Emily gasped sharply and winced as the cobblestones dug into her back. At first the fall disoriented her a bit and for a short second she wondered what had happened. Someone had grabbed her and pulled her back making her stumble and fall.

Looking with wide eyes around her Emily tried getting her bearings but all she could see were the tops of the buildings around her and the bright blue sky.

"Don't worry." An unfamiliar voice told her. "If you don't move I won't have to hurt you."

Scrambling around she got up on her knees. "Sit." The man standing in front of her told her and she quickly crawled back and sat hunched against the car. The man the voice was attached to stood hovering over her with a hammer in one hand and looking intently at her with small piggy eyes.

She recognized him from the photo that Garcia had sent to her PDA and the feeling that she'd had before was confirmed. She was face to face with their unsub. She ran her eyes carefully along him. She briefly stopped at the left hand that was gripping the hammer. But she couldn't see anything indicating that he had any kind of real fire arm.

She patted the ground around her searching for the gun that she'd dropped when she fell. It wasn't there. It must have skidded under the car.

So basically she was unarmed, sitting on the ground and had a man with a hammer and murderous tendencies looming over her. _Crap! Wasn't that just perfect..._

She raised her head a little ignoring the searching eyes of Harding who was looking at her like he was expecting her to do something. Looking over Harding's shoulder she could see Hotch standing not far away by the entrance to the station. He was aiming both his gun and his cold steady glare at Harding. His eyes flickered down and met hers. Though his stoic gaze never wavered she still felt the comfort that his deep eyes brought her.

Following Emily's eyes over his shoulder Harding turned and stared at Hotch. "Who's that?" He asked Emily, pointing the hammer at Hotch and stepping a little closer to her shielding her from Hotch.

"He's my boss..." Emily answered then adding a little louder. "...and my _boyfriend_." She was hoping that a statement like that would throw off Harding.

"You should be with _me_." Harding snarled back leaning closer to her. She could feel his dirty breath on the top of her head and she shuddered.

"I know." Emily agreed forcing herself to smile at him. "I'd rather be with you. But he..." she indicated Hotch "is convinced I belong to him."

She said it loud enough for Hotch to hear. Silently she was hoping that Hotch would understand where she was going with it. Harding obviously had an inflated sense of self-worth and was very unstable. Stroking his ego and then focusing his anger and attention on Hotch might be her best chance to take him down. Or at least to get away from him.

Hearing Emily's words Hotch understood immediately what she was doing. If they could make him forget about Emily for just a second that would buy her some time. And since Harding was so obsessed with her he'd lose it if he thought that someone was standing in his way.

"She's mine." Hotch told him looking straight at Harding who'd slowly started to turn some of his attention from Emily onto him. "You can't have her."

"Don't listen to him, Clyde." Emily said smiling sweetly. "I don't want him. I've never wanted him. I want you."

"Yes. That's right." Harding said glancing defiantly at Hotch and brandishing the hammer at him. Though still not daring to turn all of his attention from the woman he wanted to the man he now despised he stayed close to Emily.

Emily looked up at Hotch briefly locking eyes with him again. They both knew that they needed Harding to focus fully on something other than Emily. He was still clutching the hammer and Emily was still unarmed.

Looking to her right she could see Rossi standing covered slightly by the open door of the dark SUV pointing his gun at Harding. To her left she could see Morgan in a similar position and behind Hotch were JJ and Reid. They all had their guns aimed at Harding but still had no reason to shoot. It wouldn't be an okay shooting.

She could still hear Hotch's voice in the background taunting Harding. "You'll never have her! All the things you want from her, she'll only ever give to me!"

Emily curled a little tighter together. Harding was still waving the hammer around agitated by Hotch's jeering and she had no interest at all in having that thing leave a mark in her forehead. Inhaling deeply feeling every bruise on her back as her lungs expanded she decided that she had to so something soon. If only they could lift his attention from her. All she needed were a few seconds.

Moving closer to Emily and Harding, Hotch continued his mocking. "She's mine, Harding!" He sneered. "She'll _never_ let you touch her the way she lets me!"

Fury shooting from Harding's eyes they finally left Emily to focus solely on Hotch. "You're lying!" He screeched raising his makeshift weapon.

As he turned to make a rush at the other man Emily acted quickly. With all the force she could muster she kicked her leg up. With a deafening thump her shin connected with Harding's groin sending him falling to the ground screaming in agony. Quickly pushing herself off the ground Emily lunged at the man shoving him forcefully face down onto the ground and pinned his hands behind his back.

"Be still and shut up." She told the whimpering man as she made room for Morgan to put the cuffs on Harding. Though he wasn't a large man and Emily could quite easily hold him down she was glad when Morgan took over cuffing his wrists and pulling him off the ground with a 'get up you sick son-of-a-bitch'.

As Morgan lead the cuffed Clyde Harding towards the station he turned and gave Emily a wide smile. "Damn, girl! From now on you're doing the tackling." He chuckled and pushed Harding through the door.

Walking over to Hotch who was standing a few feet away she didn't really know what to do. She wanted to pull him close and feel the comforting connection that gave her but that wouldn't be a very professional move. Instead she just stopped next to him with a few inches of air between them.

Then to her surprise she felt his large fingers grasp her smaller ones and give them a soft squeeze before letting them go again. The touch hadn't lasted for more than a few seconds and he hadn't looked at her. She hadn't looked at him either but the small gesture lit up her inside spreading a warmth that reached her lips tilting them in a soft smile.

* * *

"How's it going?" JJ asked as she stepped up next to Hotch and Morgan who were standing side by side watching Rossi and Emily, as they sat opposite Harding in the small interrogation room, through the two-way mirror.

"He still hasn't said anything." Morgan answered. "He just kind of leers creepily at Emily."

"How did it go with his wife?" Hotch asked JJ who'd just come back from interviewing Doreen Harding together with Reid.

"She was surprised. Said she'd never expected him to do something like this." JJ answered but adding with a frown. "But I think she knew something was wrong deep down."

"I think that's always the case." Morgan agreed. "I think we all want to think the best of the people we love but some things are just too hard to deny."

"She did say that he'd been acting a little more agitated since he was let go from his job. And that happened at about the same time as her business took off. She let him work there so that he'd have something to do and it was meant to be a brief thing but when it grew more permanent he grew more hostile. And apparently he didn't like the kind of things his wife sold. The lingerie." JJ explained.

"Well..." Hotch said turning from JJ to look through the mirror again. "We have a lot to tie him to the murders with but I'd be a lot more comfortable with a confession."

Morgan nodded. "Yeah, well if anyone's going to get one I'm pretty sure it's going to be Emily."

Hotch nodded back but he didn't say anything. He knew that Emily was their best chance at getting something out of the man but that didn't mean that he wanted her in the same room as him. He also knew that he was being overprotective. But frankly he didn't give a damn. Emily was the woman he loved and he wanted her completely safe. Pausing for a short second he felt his mind boggle at the admission that had just slipped out. _The woman he loved..._

JJ must have picked up on something. Maybe his face wasn't as expressionless as was the norm because he could feel her hand rubbing his arm softly. As he looked down at her she gave him a warm smile.

Again turning his attention to Rossi and Emily on the other side of the mirror he listened in silence as they pulled and prodded at Harding with their questions.

"Tell us what you did to Kelly White." Rossi said, his voice dark and steady, but getting no response from Harding. He just kept his eyes fixated on Emily.

"She's pretty." Rossi said conversationally, jerking his head at Emily. That got a nod from Harding. "Your wife's pretty too. They look a bit alike." Rossi continued.

"My wife's not good enough." Harding said quietly.

"Why's that?" Rossi asked with the same easy conversational tone to his voice.

"She doesn't act like a real woman should." Harding stated coldly. "The man is the provider and the woman should help the man. Not try to provide for herself."

"You're angry that Doreen has a successful business?" Emily asked trying to coat her voice with as much sugar as possible.

Harding didn't answer but kept his eyes firmly on Emily. She felt as if he was undressing her with his eyes and that made her feel an overwhelming desire to scrub her flesh raw.

"You didn't want to work in her shop?" Emily prodded still trying to keep her voice sweet and gentle.

Harding shook his head. "She's a hypocrite." He said. "She'll happily sell those things but she won't wear them for me." He huffed. "She's no real woman. Trying to be a business _man _and neglecting her womanly duties. You on the other hand..." he looked even more intently at Emily "...you'd be willing. I can see it in your eyes."

"Yes..." Emily smiled at him. "I'd wear it. I'd never let go of my womanly duties." She fought the shiver running down her spine as a wide smile crept over Harding's lips.

"I might not wear it for _you_..." Emily continued sweetly, knowing that telling him this would get him riled up. It had before. "But I'd definitely wear it for _him_." She gestured at the two-way mirror.

"I knew it!" Harding yelled loudly trying to stand but was pulled back down by the cuffs linked between his wrists and the table. "You're just like the others!"

"Did the others disappoint on their womanly duties?" Emily asked calmly not letting his screaming get to her.

"Not all..." He sneered and again Emily had to force herself not to twist her face in disgust. "I'd make you fulfill _that_ duty too."

"And if I'd refuse?" Emily casually asked.

"She's got him on the hook." Morgan commented behind the mirror. "His ego won't be able to take such rejection." Hotch nodded keeping his eyes locked on Emily.

"I'd make you!" Harding screeched, agitated by her calm. "I'd punish you!"

"How would you do that?" Emily asked tilting her head to the side.

"I'd kill you!" He roared, his face red and his body shaking with anger.

"Like you did the others?" Emily prodded leaning closer to Harding. "Like you did Kelly White, Linda Shelton and Mary-Anne Nylund?"

"Yes!"

* * *

**A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Only one chapter left! Anyone else experiencing a little separation anxiety?**

**We're having **_**The "Caught with your hand in the cookie jar" Challenge**_** at the Smut Club! Join the fun and exercise that smutty part of your brain!**

**x Sussi**


	20. The Beginning

**Dark Eyes**

**A/N: Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! Again this is not my usual update day but it was finished and I wanted to get it up.**

**Here we go!**

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**Chapter twenty – The Beginning**

After shaking hands with Detective Granger and exchanging final 'goodbyes' and 'thank yous' Hotch left the tarmac and went up the steps to the waiting jet. Walking through the entrance he looked at his team strewn across the cabin. Finally after five long days they could all relax. They had got their confession from Harding and he was safely locked in jail. Now they could go back home.

Morgan was sitting in the seat at the very back, headphones already clamped over his ears and his head lolling to the side. Sound asleep already by the looks of it. Either that or he was faking it to avoid one of Reid's Star Wars rants. Hotch couldn't tell anymore.

Reid had taken his usual seat on the sofa, his long legs stretched out in front of him revealing one orange and one gray sock beneath his brown corduroys. He was turning pages in a book at record speed letting one long finger glide along the words on the pages.

Emily and JJ were sitting close together talking quietly about something. Both were smiling. That made the corners of his mouth tilt a little upwards too. He wanted to sit close to Emily but he chose not to. They were still technically on duty and he didn't trust himself to be able to keep things professional. It was all so new. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her and hold her. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours since he was allowed to start doing things like that and the desire was overwhelming.

So instead he sank down in the seat next to Rossi. Sitting there would definitely not give him any urges...

"Why, Aaron..." Rossi chuckled. "Is that a smile on your face or is it cramping from scowling too much?"

Except maybe to give the old man a slap. "Funny." Hotch shot him a death glare instead. But that only made Rossi chuckle harder.

"Seriously though, Aaron." Rossi said changing his tone from droll to more calm and collected. "It's really nice to see you smile." He glanced over at Emily and JJ who were still deep in conversation. "I take it that you and the lovely Agent Prentiss have come to an agreement?"

"Not that it's any of your business." Hotch told him quietly. "But yes, Emily and I have clarified a few things." He gave Rossi another glare, this one much friendlier. "And that's all you're getting from me. I don't want my private business all over the BAU and knowing you it would take... what? A day? Before everyone would know."

"Please..." Rossi smiled. "I'd just tell Garcia and then the entire sixth floor would know within the hour." He gave Hotch a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Aaron. Your secret's safe with me until you want people to know."

"Thanks." Hotch smiled back.

* * *

JJ leaned closer to Emily her bright blue eyes sparkling with heaps of unuttered questions.

"What do you want to know?" Emily playfully sighed.

"Did you two... _you know_..?" JJ glanced over at Hotch and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at Emily.

Emily suppressed a little laugh. "No." She smiled. "We did kiss though. A lot..."

JJ let out a soft squeal and squeezed Emily's hand. "I'm so happy for you!"

"I am too." Emily smiled back. "We decided that we didn't want to... _do that... _when both our minds were preoccupied with the case."

"Well there's not a new case until tomorrow at the earliest..." JJ smiled. "What are you doing tonight?"

"I don't know..." Emily answered. "We haven't decided anything."

Sitting quiet for a few moments she turned back to JJ. "Do you think we're taking things too fast? We've just acknowledged that we have feelings for each other. We haven't delved deeper into what those feelings are. Maybe it's too early to take that next step."

"Em, honey." JJ smiled at her. "You've been in love with each other for over a year. If anything you're taking things too slow."

Emily nodded and gave JJ's hand a squeeze but didn't say anything. Fist she looked over at Hotch who seemed to have fallen asleep next to Rossi who was definitely sleeping, the loud snores a clear give-away. Then she turned to look out the window at the clouds sailing by.

She was ready. Like JJ said she'd loved him for a year, maybe more. It had just taken her some time to realize that and then some more time to get the courage to do something about it. But neither her nor Hotch were insecure teenagers. They were both fully grown intelligent adults. And she knew that Hotch would never take lightly on something like this. No, she knew that he was in it for the long haul. She loved him and she wanted to be with him. He should know that.

* * *

As the jet touch ground safely back in Quantico the usual hubbub erupted. Morgan nagging Reid and Rossi about going out with him and Garcia. Files being collected, go-bags being passed around and books being stumbled over.

When everyone but Emily, JJ and Hotch had left JJ turned to Emily. "Here..." She smiled and handed her a white shopping bag with pink tissue paper sticking out at the top. "I got this for you when I went back to talk to Doreen Harding. Put it to good use." She gave her another smile and a wink and started making her way off the jet.

Peaking into the bag a grin spread across Emily's lips as she saw the red see-through material lying at the bottom of it. Looking up she saw that Hotch was the only one left with her in the cabin.

"You want a ride?" He asked.

"Sure." Emily answered. She'd driven there the day they'd left for Birka and her car was in the parking garage but she would never say no to an offer like that.

They both sat quiet for the most part of the drive to Emily's apartment. Both minds overflowing with thoughts of what would happen when they'd reached their destination.

Pulling up outside the apartment complex Hotch quickly got out of the car and jogged around to Emily's side opening the door before she'd had a chance to do it herself. Taking the go-bag from her hand he gave her a smile. "Walk you up?"

"Okay." She answered smiling back and deciding not to choose that time to argue that she's perfectly capable of carrying her own bag.

Walking next to him through the front doors and up to the elevator she let her fingers graze his asking for that small connection. Her lips formed a content smile when he took her hand in his.

Stopping outside her door Hotch let go of her hand and rested his hands on her shoulders instead. Sliding her hands around his waist Emily pulled him into a tight hug. She'd wanted to do that the last fifteen hours and a warmth spread through her body at the feeling of his body molded against hers.

His hands traveled from her shoulders up to wrap around her neck. Tilting her head back Hotch bent down and his lips descended on hers. Pulling her closer he let all of the anxiety, adrenaline and joy he'd felt during the day pour into the kiss making it feel almost desperate.

Parting her lips further Emily let him slide his tongue into the depths of her mouth tasting the coffee he'd drunk a little while earlier. Letting his tongue dominate hers she simply yielded into his arms and allowed him full reign.

Panting from the lack of oxygen as they parted she looked up into his dark eyes and rubbed her hands along his back feeling the soft fabric of his suit jacked under her hands.

Taking a deep breath she whispered. "Do you want to come inside?" Not allowing him time to answer she continued breathlessly. "I know we've only been a couple for less than twenty-four hours, Hotch. But I need you to know that you're it for me."

She breathed hard. "My feelings just kind of sneaked up on me. But I've realized now that I've felt this way for a long time." She took another deep breath. "I love you, Aaron." She finished. Her breath was shallow as she waited for him to respond. As he remained silent for another few moments she could feel every nerve in her body.

"Emily..." Hotch began as he broke the silence. "It took me too long to make sense of my feelings. But I know what they are now and I promise you that I will never stop telling you how much I love you. I love you, Emily." He traced a finger along her cheek pushing her hair behind her ear.

"Is that a 'yes'?" Emily smilingly asked, to which Hotch raised a confused eyebrow. "I mean is that a 'yes, you'll come inside'?"

"That's a 'hell yes'." Hotch smiled and pulled her in for another scorching kiss.

Struggling to open her purse and retrieve her keys Emily let out a low moan as Hotch's lips found a sensitive spot on her neck.

"_Mmmm._" He hummed. "I'll remember that spot for later." Releasing her he allowed her to fish out the keys and unlock the door.

The moment the door was closed behind them Hotch grabbed Emily again making her go-bag and purse fall to the floor. Pinning her against the wall he latched on to that special spot in the crook of her neck carefully nibbling at the delicate skin. At the same time well aware that his actions would leave a mark but wanting to mark her as his.

Curling herself tightly around him she pressed her lips close to his ear and breathed her request. "_Bed._"

Placing two strong hands round her rear he pulled her close lifting her off the ground as she wrapped her long legs around him. A strangled gasp left his lips as she brushed against the evidence of his want for her. Taking the steps as quickly as he could he finally pushed through the door she told him led to her bedroom.

The clothes forming a thin shield between them vanished in a flurry of impatiently grasping and exploring hands. The only problem arising when Hotch's fingers, trembling from a mix of excitement and lust, failed to unbutton the tiny buttons on Emily's shirt. Finally giving up he simply ripped it apart.

"Found your match there, Agent Hotchner?" Emily laughed as she looked at the remains of her shirt on the floor.

"I think I handled the situation well." Hotch smiled back running his hands along the bare skin on her back.

Standing before each other in only their underwear they both took their time to examine the other. Both filled with quiet wonder that they now were allowed to do such a thing.

Hotch's breath hitched in his throat as his eyes by their own volition explored the supple curves of her exposed body. He felt his heart growing warmer and fought the urge to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. "You're beautiful." He rasped.

"So are you." Emily huskily breathed back as she took in his muscled form, his lean arms and legs and the traces Foyet had left on his torso. Traces that to Emily only were signs of what a strong person he was.

Smiling she took his hand and tugged him closer twirling her arms around him and pressing her lips against his. Squealing as he grabbed her waist and placed her on the bed she couldn't help but laugh at the uncharacteristically mischievous look in his eyes.

Discarding his boxers to the side he protested when she started to unhook her bra. "I want to be the one doing that." He smiled and chuckled a little at her pretended annoyed 'if you must' as she fell back onto the soft pillows.

Climbing up next to her he allowed the caveman inside to release a grunt of joy as he noticed her eyes roaming down his naked body. Sliding his hands up her silky stomach he could feel her taut muscles fluttering beneath the heated skin. Following the hot trail his hands left with small kisses he finally unhooked her basic black bra. Wasting no time to elicit a loud moan he encased a hard peak between his lips.

Squirming under Hotch's very able mouth Emily wriggled out of the last thing between her and Hotch and let it join his boxers on the floor. Cocking her head to look at the man she loved busy showing her breast some special attention she dragged her hand through his hair pulling his attention upwards.

She smiled at him, a smile she knew revealed every emotion that was flowing through her body. "Let me feel all of you." She whispered. "Make love to me, Aaron."

He grinned and pulled her closer. As he slowly slid into her and as their bodies merged together perfectly he felt an almost giddy eagerness. A feeling that had not been in his repertoire for a very long time. Before he was completely taken over by bliss he managed to pull together long enough to decide that he wanted to experience that feeling a lot more often from that moment on.

Hours later as they lay tangled together exhausted from the night's activities Hotch pulled the sleeping Emily even closer. Nuzzling her neck and breathing in that scent that made butterflies flutter through his stomach Hotch allowed a wide smile to spread across his sleepy face. Holding her, the woman he adored, close he felt... _Happy_.

**The End **

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**A/N: That's it! Finished! Huge thank yous and virtual hugs and cookies to all who have read, reviewed and put this story on alert and as your favorite story! Thanks so much! I really hope that you have enjoyed reading it. I have enjoyed writing it! Pretty please let me know what you have thought of it!**

**And keep your eyes peeled for my next story... a real angsty number... coming soon! I might also do a sequel to this if there's any interest . I've started thinking about a case but it's still in the early stages.**

**Don't forget **_**The "Caught with your hand in the cookie jar" Challenge**_** at the Smut Club!**

**x Sussi**


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